


Hunting Through Nothingness

by DeltaPhazon



Series: Connected Hearts [2]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Brother-Sister Relationships, Family, Kairi Does Stuff, Referenced Final Fantasy characters, Tags Are Hard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-03
Updated: 2020-04-03
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:22:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 22,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23465359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeltaPhazon/pseuds/DeltaPhazon
Summary: It has been one year since the islands returned from the Realm of Darkness and Aura has spent them waiting for her brother to return. But sometimes you just can't wait around forever. Especially when someone threatens the people you care about the most.Or the second part of my take on a "Sora has a sister" story.
Relationships: Kairi & Riku & Sora (Kingdom Hearts), Kairi (Kingdom Hearts) & Original Female Character(s), Sora (Kingdom Hearts) & Original Female Character(s)
Series: Connected Hearts [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1688008
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4





	1. 1 Year Later

It had been a year since the Destiny Islands had returned and life continued as usual. Kairi, along with her friends, had begun high school and had beginning learning several hardships in life such as exam preparation and homework. Nothing so terrible as losing a friend, but something Kairi had hardships in as Aura heard quite often. After her return from the Realm of Darkness, Aura had kept her training up as a part time home guard member. She’d shocked her commanding officer, Captain Jecht, and best friend and fellow trainee, Claire Farron, with her usage of an ability she’d picked up from the Realm of Darkness, her Arrows of Light. As she trained, she learned new tricks. She could use her Pulsar Arrows: Piercer, a shot that could pierce targets, in tricky ways, such as firing multiple at a time and curving them by adjusting her bow. Her Pulsar Arrows: Detonation, a shot that caused an explosion of light when it struck a target, were still used in mostly the same way, namely crowd control. Her Pulsar Arrows: Barrier was the arrow most people complained about as, not only could she use them as a barrier to keep people away, trapping herself in the bubble or creating a large gap between her allies and her enemies, but also use it as a prison, trapping them in a bubble and preventing escape. She had also learned a single new trick shot. Her Pulsar Arrows: Mine allowed her to shoot an arrow that looked like Piercer but dropped the arrow head into the ground, creating a land mine that erupted into light. Other units in the home guard found fighting Captain Jecht’s unit unfair simply because she was on in it. Not that Claire and her lighting fast slashes and Captain Jecht’s own brute strength were any better.

Other than training and school work, after learning how short life could be, Aura picked up a number of side jobs and hobbies. She learned she loved playing chess and was a decent guitar player. She also really loved her job tutoring and babysitting the kids around her Island. She looked after some of the little ones, like Eiko who had aspirations of being a noble lady or Relm the painting prodigy, while helping the older ones with homework and studies they were having issues with. Other wise, nothing else had changed. 

After the events of the year prior, only one new rule was set up. The row boats had been locked away. No going to the Vacant Island without permission of one of the ship captains, namely Balthier and Sazh, who in turn was only allowed to give permission if a kid had a written note from a parent or was accompanied by a trust worthy adult or teenager like Penelo, Kairi or Aura and excluding the likes of Vaan, Tidus and Snow. Despite this, however, Kairi still made the trip over frequently on the weekends. Aura joined her.

The two girls had gotten closer, making an almost sibling like bond over the year. They had promised to wait together and had gotten to know each other well. Riku had made them wait and made everyone in the village worry. Someone needed to hold to him account for it. Sometimes though, something felt like it was missing. Aura wondered why there was a bedroom in their house no-one entered. When she tried, it just felt wrong. Like she was invading a crypt or something. Kairi felt sad when she saw a picture on a wall in the secret cave. It was of her and someone else, but she couldn’t remember who that person was. It was like a whole had formed in their memories. But, as the day went on, they would just shrug it off. It was nothing, they told themselves. Paranoia. A left over force from the event that swallowed the islands in darkness one year ago. Nothing but a shadow of a memory.

****************

“ Is someone there?” Someone asked. Aura stood on a stained glass circle surrounded by darkness. It wasn’t a place she recalled very well and yet she somehow felt that a warm familiarity from it. She looked into the darkness, watching a strange glittering coming towards her. The voice was unfamiliar to her. Sure, it had been a year since the last time she heard a strange voice in a dark place, but this wasn’t the same. The last voice had been reassuring. Mentor like. This one was more timid. Unsure of herself.

“ I’m here.” Aura shouted back at the voice

“ Oh good. I was worried.” The voice sighed in relief. The sparking came closer. On closer inspection, Aura noticed it was from a crystal. 

“ Who are you?”

“ I don’t remember anymore.” The voice laughed sadly. “ I felt faint but then I met someone. A girl in white. She sent me down the Chain of Memories to find a safe place to store something important. But I forgot what that is. Either way, I ended up here somehow.”

“ Strange.” Aura folded her arms. “ Though, recently I’ve been feeling like I’ve been forgetting something important too.”

“ Really? You too?”

“ Yeah. Not on the same scale. I still know my name. But it’s like there’s some gap in my memories. Like Im not allowed to remember something.”

“ That’s odd.” The voice hummed. “ Well, I hope you remember what you forgot.”

“ You too.” 

“ Hey. Can I ask you a favour?”

“ What is it?”

“ Can I… stay here?” The voice asked. “ I’m starting to feel faint again but I haven’t found a place to hide it yet.”

“ Hmm. You want to hide it here? Doesn’t seem like there’s much of a hiding place in this place.”

“ I don’t know why, but here is just fine. Is that…OK?”

“ Hmm.” Aura thought for a moment before smiling, nodding her head. “If you wanna stay here, that’s fine. Stay as long as you want.”   
“ Really?”

“ Yeah. It doesn’t trouble me.” Aura smirked. “ In return, you can tell me your name when you remember it. Deal?”

“ Deal.” Aura opened her hand. The crystal floated into it disappearing. “ Sorry. I can’t hold on any longer. I need rest.”

“ That’s fine. I’ll talk to you some other time.”

****************

“SORA!” Aura awoke with a yell. It was a week after her dream with the floating crystal. All of a sudden, like a flash, all the memories of her younger brother came flooding back to her. The stupid dolt that vanished on her and her parents a year ago, leaving them worried sick. How could she let herself forget? She groaned. Her head was killing her. Why had she forgotten him?

A discussion with her mother and father had her discover they had a similar reaction that morning. Captain Jecht and Claire questioned her about him the second she met up with them. It seemed the entire town was talking about it. How could the boy that all of them had at least seen running around and one of the boys that never returned home after the incident suddenly vanish from everyone's memories only to return suddenly? It was Fran who pinpointed the exact time that Sora’s memory returned. She had been running an all nighter, making sure her and Balthier’s ship was ready to go on a big trip a few days after. Then, at 7:13 in the morning, as she was taking a break, a name popped into her head. Sora. That was the moment everyone remembered him.

A few days later, Kairi and Aura were watching the sun set on the beach. Kairi had decided to take a walk after a long day at school, thankful it had just broken up for the summer. Aura had been training there when the girl arrived and decided to take a break. “ How could we forget him?” She had asked.

“ Honestly, I have no idea, Kai.” Aura sighed, blowing a strand of hair out of her face. She rested her bow on her lap and fiddled with the clasp for her quiver, flicking it open and closed again. The old clip had gotten damaged after a fight with Claire over the last year, so she had it replaced. The clasp was a bit more stylish then the old clip, giving a bit more personality to one of her tools of choice. “ It’s like some sort of magic, right?”

“ Maybe.”

“ But that begs the question. What trouble did he get in to make us forget about him?”

“ You’re worrying me, Aura.”

“ Heh. Sorry. Just curious about the situation is all.” Aura settled on keeping the clasp closed, moving her hand away from it. “ It’s been a year already. Stupid idiot. How long is he planning on being? We’ve waited long enough.”

“ Then… Perhaps waiting isn’t good enough.”

“ Huh?” Kairi turned to Aura, a determined look on her face.

“ We should go and find them.”

“ Uh. With what? It’s not like we can teleport.”

“ But waiting here. It’s not going to help. We have to go and get them ourselves.”

“ My thoughts exactly.” An unfamiliar voice echoed. The two present looked around for it’s source. “ Why wait around for something to be done for you? You gotta grab life by the horns and take control. It’s one of life’s little rules. Got it memorised?” A dark void appeared. The air warped. As the darkness faded, it was replaced by a man with spiked red hair dressed only in a large black coat.

“ Oh, now who?” Aura sighed.

“ My names Axel. I happen to be an acquaintance of Sora’s. We have a history.”

“ You know Sora?” Kairi asked, cautiously.

“ Of course. You want to see him, don’t you Kairi? Why don’t we go together and drop in on him. I’m sure he’ll be delighted.” Aura stepped between the two, an arrow of light ready in her bow.

“ Step off, creep.” She warned Axel. “ I don’t trust you.” Axel looked at Aura

“ Hey. Sorry to go off topic but have we… met before?”

“ I think I’d remember meeting a creep like you.”

“ Ouch. In that case, you would be?”

“ Aura. Sora’s older sister. What have you done with him?”

“ Ah. The sister. I was told to look out for you. Something about you being a problem.” As Axel talked, four silver creatures appeared as if from nowhere.

“ Heartless?” Aura questioned. Then she shook her head, took aim and fired an arrow. The creature nimbly stretched it’s entire body unnaturally to dodge the blow. “ Ugh. It’s always something. Kairi. Eyes up.” She loaded another trio of arrows and launched them, curving two of them to strike out at two of the other creatures. Again, they dodged but this time Aura was expecting it. They started to lurch forwards, their bodies stretching like rubber as they walked. Aura Fired an arrow at the ground before snapping her fingers. A glowing barrier appeared around her and Kairi. At the same time, the arrow heads left over from her Trap arrows exploded, sending pillars of light upwards. The odd creatures were engulfed in light and vanished however, Axel remained standing.

“ Oh, so that’s why I was told to be wary about you. Battle Mage. Ugh.” Axel sighed. He held out his hands. In a flurry of dancing flames, two chakrams appeared. Axel caught them. “ Sorry, but I need that girl. I have someone I miss dearly. And she’s the key to getting him back.”

“ Sorry, Hot Head But you’re gonna have to go through me first.” Aura smirked. “ Or rather me and about 30 other guys who saw those lights running down, weapons in hand, to apprehend a trouble maker.”

“ Then I guess I’ll just have to make this quick.” Axel launched his Chakrams. One hit first, bouncing off, before the second struck the same point. A small crack formed on the barrier. Axel ran forwards, grabbing both out of mid air and leaping, swinging down and crashing down on the crack. The barrier shattered like glass.

“ What?” Aura exclaimed. She then grit her teeth and fired a Detonation arrow at him. Axel through a chakram forward, detonating the explosion early before running through it. Flames formed on his Chakram and he through it forwards. Aura made sure that Kairi wasn’t behind her before rolling out of the way. She looked back at him angrily. Her eyes flickered. She went to summon and arrow and began spinning it. However, as she did, something odd happened. A strange feeling of warmth radiated from her heart. Instead of the arrow appearing as a regular white arrow made of light, the light darkened with a red hue. And it didn’t stop spinning after Aura loaded it into her bow, holding it sideways. As she fired it, the spinning increased and the arrow ignited into flames. Like Axel’s attack, the spinning object whirled towards it’s target. Surprised, Axel blocked the arrow with his chakrams, causing his vision to be blocked in a firey blast. He coughed.

“ Did you just copy me?” He asked in disbelief. 

“ I… have no idea.” Aura looked down at her bow and back up at Axel. She wondered what that was herself. A new type of arrow perhaps? She was cut off by loud barking from behind her. A large dog was now running circles around Kairi. Behind them, a dark void had opened. “ What in the world?”

“ I don’t know. This dog just came bounding from the town.” Kairi exclaimed. As the two were trying to understand their current situation, a whistle was heard. The dog bounded towards the void. It turned and barked at the archer and the teenager before leaping through the portal. Kairi ran after it. “ Aura. This way.” Not having time to argue, Aura nodded. She ran forward. Axel gave chase. Aura spun on her heels, running backwards now, letting loose another pair of Piercer arrows him, stopping him in his tracks. Aura hoped backwards through the portal, watching as her home once again disappeared into the darkness.

****************

“ Ow!” Aura groaned. She appeared through the portal flying backwards and ended up tripping over something, hurting her back thanks to the quiver attached to it.

“ Are you alright, Aura?” Kairi asked, looking down at her. Aura managed to hold up a thumbs up. “ Phew.”

“ Uh. Sorry to interrupt but…” Someone said. Kairi looked over and gasped. “ You two and this dog just kinda… appeared from the wall. Are we being invaded by aliens?”

“ Pence, it’s not aliens.” A second, more feminine voice, told the first.

“ Is it ghosts then?” Pence asked.

“ Doubt it.”

“ Oh. Sorry.” Kairi rubbed the back of her head, laughing nervously. Aura rolled over at looked up. She and Kairi had arrived in what seemed to be some sort of basement room. There was a few old sofas and sitting on them were two boys, one a fair bit fatter the other, and a girl with a worried expression on her face. The dog from earlier was also there, sitting on the floor and panting. “ We didn’t mean to… erm… interrupt.”

“ It was… ow… out of our control.” Aura growned. 

“ Never seen you around here before.” The slimmer, more sour sounding boy stated.

“ Really Hayner? Two girls and their dog appear from a hole in the wall and your first line is ‘Neer seen you around here before’?” The girl sighed. “ Good grief."    
“ It’s a valid statement.”

“ Welp. We’re the invaders.” Aura groaned, sitting up. “ Ah. That’s gonna bruise. Anyway, I’m Aura. Hey.”

“ And my names Kairi. And that’s… um… OK, that’s not really our dog.”

“ Hmm.” The large kid, Pence from the voice, leant over. “ His collar says… ‘Pluto’.”

“ Pluto? I’ve seen stranger names for a dog. Relm’s is called Interceptor after all.” Aura shook her head. 

“ Interceptor? That’s a pretty cool name actually.” Pence laughed.

“ Well, my name’s Olette.” The girl told the pair. “ This is Pence…” She motioned a hand to the fatter kid, who waved at them. “ And this overly happy child is Hayner.”

“ Yeah. Sup.” Hayner nodded his head. “ So, what’s your story.”

“ I guess that’s fair.” Aura crossed her legs. “ Well, this may hard to believe, but it’s the truth.” Aura and Kairi explained to the trio what had happened to them. That they were from another world and that there had been some strange goings on in it involving a Aura’s missing brother. Kairi’s missing friend.. That Kairi had suggested to go searching for him and her other friend Riku. That they had been attacked by a red haired man in a black coat and forced to flee. 

“ So you’re friends of Sora?” Olette asked.

“ One. He’s my brother, not my friend. Two. You know Sora?” Aura asked.

“ Yeah. We met.” Hayner admitted “ He met with some mouse man and decided to leave the town.”

“ Mouse man?” Kairi asked, confused.

“ Mickey!” Aura smiled. “ He made it out. I wonder if Riku and Teacher are here too then.”

“ Last we checked, it was just him.” Pence told them. Aura sighed, her shoulders dropping.

“ Right. I see.”

“ Well, he promised to come back. You can wait for him with us if you want.” Olette offered.

“ Thanks, Olette.” Kairi smiled. “ I hope he’s not too long.”

“ Ha. The dolt’s probably giving some other people a headache somewhere. He’ll get lost and come back here eventually. It’s the type of boy Sora is.” Aura smirked.

“ Sorry, but I’m afraid meeting up with Sora will have to wait.” Aura’s heart dropped. She leapt up and spun on her feet, grabbing her bow. Axel entered the room, looking around. “ Of course you’d be here with them. Heh. That just makes too much sense.” Aura drew her bow.

“ Axel.”

“ He’s the guy who tried to kidnap me.” Kairi stated. The other three looked shocked.

“ Oh come now, Kairi. Kidnap is such a strong word.” Axel smirked. Aura fired a warning shot. Axel simply deflected it with a chakram, resting the weapon over his shoulder. 

“ Back off.” Aura warned.

“ Sorry, but no can do.” Axel started walking forwards. Hayner and Pence stepped between Axel and Kairi and Aura. “ More interlopers, huh?”

“ I’m not sure what’s going on here, but if you think you’re just going enter our base and take whoever you want, you’ve got another thing coming.” Hayner yelled.

“ Is that right? Man, is this what a heart does to people? So irrational. Heh heh.” Axel kept walking. Hayner and Pence rushed at him only for the black coated man to step around them effortlessly, sending the crashing into the back wall. Olette stepped up. She reached behind on of the old sofas, grabbing a blue covered bat and swung at him. Axel caught it. “ Careful. You could hurt someone with this.”

“ That was the intention.”

“ Then I hope you don’t mind me confiscating it.” Axel pushed back at Olette. Surprised, the girl lost balance and fell backwards, the bat falling to the ground. Aura loaded a trio of arrows into her bow.

“ Step. Back. Axel.” She warned. Axel shook his head. As she went to pull the bow string, Axel suddenly leapt forwards, grabbing the bow. “ Ah!”

“ Not this time, firefly.” He kneed Aura in the stomach and pulled the bow from her grasp. Aura collapsed to her knees, grabbing her stomach. Axel threw the bow to the ground. Kairi stepped backwards slightly.

“ S-Stay away from me.” She stammered.

“ Sorry, but I need you. You’re the ticket I need to get him back.” Axel grabbed Kairi by the wrist.

“ Axel… Stop this…” Aura growled. “ You don’t… need to do this.”

“ Hmm.” Axel looked down at the defeated archer. “ Are you sure we’ve never met? There something about you that reminds me of someone but I can’t place who the person is. It’s odd.”

“ Hang yourself…”

“ I guess not.” Axel closed his eyes and shook his head. “ Sorry about this.” A dark void surrounded Axel and Kairi. Pluto leapt after them. In the next second, they had vanished. Aura slammed the ground with both hands. 

“ Not again. Damn it!”


	2. Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aura reunites with her brother after a year apart.

“Yah!” Aura kicked a can across the Sandlot. It had been a number of hours since Kairi had been kidnapped. In that time, a number had things had happened. She’d learned a bit more about her new friends, recovered from both her back and her stomach pains and discovered what the locals referred to as “Sea Salt Ice Cream”. Like real sea salt, Aura didn’t like the taste despite the sweet after taste that made it a bit better. She bought herself strawberry ice cream after learning both her island and this new world, she learnt it was called Twilight Town, used the same currency. Then she took a walk and ended up in some empty plot of lands. Aura sat down on a nearby bench. “ When’s Sora supposed to get here again?”

“ Hey. You.” Aura looked over. A trio were walking in her general direction. A blond man with a long white coat flanked on both sides by a dark skinned boy on his left and a girl with hair covering an eye, much like Aura’s own except shorter and lighter in colour, on his right. “ What are you doing here?”

“ Wandering.” Aura answered simply.

“ Yeah? Well. Wander somewhere else. This town is no place for a stranger like you.” The boy looked at her bow, nestled safely in her quiver. “ Especially not an armed one.”

“ Well, aren’t we rude?” Aura stood up. “ What? Are you jealous I have an actually weapon instead of that sponge your carrying?” Aura gestured at the blue bat in the boys hand. 

“ Why you…”

“ Hey. Aura. There you are.” Olette ran over to her. “ Huh? Seifer, are you bothering her?”

“ Oh. Of course your one of her friends, Olette.” The blond boy, Seifer, rolled his eyes.

“ TYPICAL.” The girl said.

“ I coulda guessed, y’know.” The other boy said, laughing.

“ Right. So what was it?” Aura brushed Seifer and his gang off.

“ Oh. RIght. He’s back.” 

“ Sora?” Olette nodded. “ Where is he?”

“ Hayner and Pence went to meet him at the Tram Station. Come one. I’ll take you there.” Olette led Aura out of the Sandlot, towards the hill. Behind them, Seifer watched them go.

“ She just blew us off.” Seifer growled. “ Whatever. Troublemakers. Forget them.”

****************

“SORA!” Aura yelled making her way over to the boy currently conversing with Hayner and Pence. Olette walked behind her.

“ Huh? Aura? What are you-” Sora looked surprised as his sister walked over to him and then beat over the head with the wood of her bow. “ Yah! Ow! What was that for?”

“ What do you think?! Where the hell have you been?!” Aura asked angrily. “ It’s been a year! One! Full! Year! Mom has been killing herself with worry! Dad has had to cut down on his work hours just to make sure she’s alright! Riku’s dad is drinking more now! And I’ve been juggling all of that AND my part time job in the guard AND making sure Kairi not alone on that god forsaken Island waiting for your dumb ass every weekend!” Aura hit Sora again. “ I get you probably couldn’t come back freely. I get it. But could you think of your family before running off like an idiot next time? Please?”

“ Ow. Ow. Ow. I’m sorry. Just stop hitting me, Sis.” Aura growled and backed off. 

“ Gwarsh. Are you OK Sora?”

“ Who did you annoy this time?” For the first time, Aura noticed Sora’s companions. One was a large dog man in green clothes and a black body warmer and a duck dressed in blue. 

“ Ugh. I’m fine. Just a bit dizzy.” Sora laughed nervously. “ Donald. Goofy this is… my sister. Aura. Sis, these are my friends, Donald Duck and Goofy.”

“ Huh.” Aura looked over the two. “ Those names are familiar. Say, are you Mickey’s friends?”

“ The King?” Goofy asked.

“ You know him?” Donald followed up.

“ Ha. Figures.” Aura smiled, shaking her head. " Yeah, we're acquainted."

“ Wait, wait, wait.” Sora walked forward. “ Can we start over. Aura, how did you get here?”

“ She arrived with Kairi.” Hayner mentioned. “ The other girl I mentioned.”

“ Really?” 

“ Yeah. That’s right.” Aura sighed.

“ And. Is Kairi really…”

“ Sorry. I messed up.” Aura looked down, feeling guilty. “ I couldn’t stop him. Some town guard I turned out to be.”

“ Looking at your quiver, I’d say you tried.”

“ Oh. Right. Of course. You wouldn’t know.” Aura scratched the back of her head. “ This actually gets into how I know Mickey. It’s a bit of a story.” She leant back against the railing, her back to the ledge over looking the town and began telling her tale. The story of what she was up to after the Island. “ So now I can use this party trick.” Aura summoned one of her Arrows of Light. “ Neat, huh?”

“ Woah.” Sora looked at her arrow in awe.

“ Teacher said something about me being blessed. Having innate magic or some sort of guardian angel. Either way, I spent about a week in the Dark realm and came back with an unlimited ammo cheat.” Aura chuckled. “ Not that it was much use in saving Kairi. Sorry bro. I messed up this time.”

“ Hey. You did all you could. I’m the one who promised I’d look out for her.” Sora sighed.

“ Oh, don’t you go feeling down now. You were always that hyper active dolt who never stopped smiling. Even when you broke bones, you’d still find something to laugh at. Stiff upper lip, my brother. You can do what I can’t in crossing between worlds. If anyone can find her, it’s you.”

“ Heh. Thanks sis.” Aura brought her brother into a hug.

“ It’s good to see you’re alright, little bro.”

“ Hey. Enough emotional stuff. It’s icky.” Hayner complained.

“ Hayner.”

“ What? If you want to a reunion, you have to get ice cream.” Aura chuckled, releasing her brother and patting him on the back.

“ Heh. Sure. Whatever.” She shrugged.

“ Lead the way, Hayner.” Sora said with a nod

****************

It took a while for the siblings to fully catch up. Though Aura had little to say. She explained how the island had changed. Went a bit more in depth of the year he missed. Wondered if Sora knew why everyone forgot him for the best part of it, which Sora admitted he’d heard about from other friends but had no idea what had happened. Sora was the one who talked the most. He explained everything to his sister, from arriving in Traverse Town and meeting Donald and Goofy, his fight against Maleficent and her forces, Ansem trying to destroy the world and then him suddenly waking up in Twilight Town. He told her tales of desert worlds and jungle worlds. Of friends he met and enemies he fought. And finally, of his current mission. “ So those black coats Axel is with? There’s a whole organisation of them?”

“ Yeah. We’re trying to find their hideout. If we don’t stop them, what happened to our island may happen again.”

“ So you’re off to save all worlds? For a second time, if your story is right.”

“ Well. I had help.”

“ But of course he did.” Donald cried. “ Like Sora could do anything by himself.”

“ What’s the supposed to mean?”

“ Heh. Yeah, he is pretty useless solo.” Aura agreed.

“ Hey! Aura!” Sora gasped, faking looking hurt before Aura laughed.

“Well, at least your friends seem to have your back. Glad to see I’ve been worrying over nothing. Unscathed and taller than ever before. Not any less of a complete dolt, but you’re getting there.”

“ Hey…” Sora pouted. Aura snickered. Sora was about to retort when they heard a cry.

“ HELP!” Everyone looked over from their conversations. A small boy in a large hat causing most of his face to be covered ran through the Tram Common. “ It’s Seifer and the guys. Monsters. They’re being attacked by monsters.” Sora looked over at Donald and Goody who nodded.

“ Stay here.” Sora told his sister, rising from his chair.

“ Like hell I will.” Aura grabbed her bow from out her quiver and stood up.

“ You can’t deal with this.”   
“ Uh, hello? These things are heartless, yeah? I trained in their domain one year ago and I’m far stronger now than back then.”

“ They could be nobodies actually.”

“ Wait, what? Nobodies?”

“ Yeah.”

“ What’s the difference?”

“ Heartless are creatures that steal peoples hearts and get stronger with each heart stolen.” Donald began. “ And nobodies are what’s left when a strong willed person loses their heart.”

“ So, Heartless are things that get hearts and nobodies are the husks of the bodies left behind.” Aura raised an eyebrow

“ Right.” The duck nodded.

“ Those names are backwards!”

“ Hey! I didn’t name them.”

“ Ugh, forget this.” Aura looked at Sora. “ Like it or not, I’m going.”

“ But…” Aura gaze hardened. Sora surrendered. “ Fine. Just. Please try not to get killed.”

“ Speak for yourself, dolt.” The two siblings smiled at each other before taking off towards the Sandlot. Behind them, Donald sighed.

“ It’s like there’s two of them now.”

“ Gwarsh. I never knew Sora’s sister would be so similar to him.”

“ We should hurry after- wack!” Donald jumped as a number of silvery creatures emerged from the ground. The crowd in the sandlot started panicking and running in all directions. “ Oh no! Nobodies.”

“ But Sora just ran off.”

“ Then we’d best deal with them and meet up with him later.”

“ Alright Donald.” Goofy held up his shield. He looked back to Hayner, Pence and Olette. “ You’d better go find some place to hide. We’ll handle things here.”

“ Are you sure?”

“ We’re heroes.” Donald gloated. “ We can handle this without Sora.”

“ Junior heroes, Donald.”

“ Would you stop bringing that up!”

****************

Sora and Aura reached the sandlot, unaware of what was transpiring in the Tram Commons. There they found Seifer and his gang surrounded by the silver creatures that accompanied Axel. “ Grr.” Seifer growled. “ They just keep coming.” Aura fired an arrow, ambushing a nobody and pinning it to the wall by a tendril like arm, struggling to free itself.

“ Eyes up, tough guy.” Aura yelled.

“ Huh? What are you doing here?”

“ What else? I came to help.”

“ Don’t need it.”

“ Oh, I see that.” As the duo approached, the silver creatures turned around, their attention on Sora and they key shaped blade he summoned out of thin air. Aura prepared her bow, leaning down slightly, three arrows of light in her bow.

“ Go.” Sora yelled. “ Get out of here. We’ll handle this.” Seifer looked at Sora.

“ Fine. I’ll concede this one. Let’s go.” He nodded to his allies before the trio took off. The silver creatures lurched forwards towards the siblings, uncaring about their previous prey escaping. “ You can go too, Sis. These are nobodies.”

“ I’ve already beaten three today then. I’m good.” Aura smirked. More Nobodies appeared behind the existing lot. Three of them large and hulking, wielding great swords, much unlike the slender silver ones Aura was used to. “ We’ve just gotta take ‘em all out, right? If you still swing that thing you did that old wooden sword of yours, I think it would be better I deal with them myself.”

“ Ha. I’ve had a lot of time to work on my skills. Watch this.” Sora flashed forwards knocking a dusk nobody into the air. Aura watched as Sora juggled it before slamming it back to earth with a finishing strike.

“ Show off.” Aura pouted. She fired her trio of arrows forwards. They danced through air before striking another dusk, once in the head and once in each shoulder. The nobody went flying backwards, crashing into one of the larger nobodies before vanishing. “ Dance like a monkey then, my brother. Distract them.”

“ I’m your distraction?”

“ I’m an archer. I need a meat shield.”

“ That’s not fair.”

“ Don’t worry. It was a joke.” Aura fired a Detonate arrow into the crowd of nobodies, causing an explosion of light. “ I’ve got your back. Let’s show these monsters what two siblings can do.”

“ Heh. Right. Let’s.” The two got to work. As Sora slashed through the nobodies, sliding around their attacks and dazing them before slashing them to pieces, Aura would snipe any foes Sora would launch into the air, pinning them to wall for a second before they vanished. Eventually, the enemies realised she was a threat, meaning Aura had to switch her attention between sniping foes from afar and dodging foes charging at her. Eventually, she switched to hoping backwards and firing arrows while Sora cleaned up the main force of them, occasionally throwing a detonating arrow his way when he was looking over whelmed. When the larger nobodies started to move, Aura launched a Barrier arrow at Sora, protecting him from a strike. In return, he blasted a dusk with an ice spell, freezing it solid and allowing Aura to shatter it with a swing of her bow. Eventually, the siblings found themselves with their backs against each other in the centre of the Sandlot, outnumbered and running out of breath. 

“ How many of these things are there?”

“ Too many.” Sora looked over his shoulder at her. “ Up for something stupid.”

“ Sure. What’s the worse that could happen?” Aura smiled. On the count of three, Sora leapt into the air. Aura spun on her heel, aiming low. Thunder magic rained from above while she fired, striking the nobodies, stunning them long enough for Aura to strike them with her arrows. Then she stabbed an arrow into the ground. As Sora returned to earth, Aura snapped her fingers. A barrier formed from the arrow next to them. A second later, a number of arrow heads, scattered by her volley, exploded into light, engulfing the Sandlot. Sora and Aura covered their eyes from the glow. As it vanished, the nobodies were no more. Aura sighed in relief as her barrier fell. “ Ok. That was… a bit harder than I thought. What was that? 100?”

“Dunno.” Sora panted. “ I hope that’s all of them.”

“ Impressive.” A voice echoed. From the side of the Sandlot, a dark void opened and a man in a black coat stepped out. “ Even after we cut off your allies from you, the two of you alone were able to deal with our onslaught. Perhaps we underestimated you. Sora is as strong as we expected. I suppose it makes sense his blood is of similar worth.”   
“ You just had to say something, didn’t you brother?” Aura said in dismay. The man took down his hood, revealing long blue hair, golden eyes and a cross shaped scar on his face. “ You must be one of Axel’s pals.”

“ And one of the Organisation. Like those two messing around in Beast’s Castle and the Underworld.” Sora growled. “ What do you want? What id you do with Kairi?”

“ Kairi? No. Axel has abandoned us. He seems to wish for some foolish resurrection using the Princess of Heart. It won’t work. But first, he needs you.”

“ You sound so worried.”

“ Indeed. You are needed for our plans to succeed. It would be a shame if something happened to you.”

“ I dunno who you are and frankly, I don’t care.” Aura stood back up straight and aimed her bow at the black coated man’s scar. “ Leave my brother out of this.” The man looked at her, his golden eyes narrowing.

“ You. Have we met before? There’s something about you that seems both familiar and annoying to me.”

“ That Red haired firecracker said the same thing and I’ll give you the same answer. I don’t know you weirdos.”

“ Is that right?” The man shook his head. “ Never mind. My name is Saix. A lead member of the organisation. It was my intention to try and prove that you couldn’t stand against us. Force you to work for us. Seems I made a… miscalculation” Saix glared at Aura.

“ Well, I don’t like you. So, I’m happy to be your miscalculation, Scarface.” Aura smirked.

“ I’d never work for you.” Sora growled.

“ And yet Marluxia almost had you as his personal toy.”

“ Who?”

“ So you really don’t recall. I see.” Saix shook his head. A dark void appeared behind him“ Sora, you just keep on fighting those heartless.”

“ I don’t need your to tell me what to do.” Sora yelled.

“ Such overconfidence. You should be careful. Else you’ll end up like Riku.”

“ Riku?” The two were taken aback by this statement. Saix backed up into the dark void. “ Hey. Stop. What did you do?” The dark void closed as Sora tried to run after Saix, the answers he seeked gone.

“ What did he mean?” Aura muttered.

“ I dunno.”   
“ Hmm…” Aura tapped her foot rapidly. “ Ah, forget about it. He’s with Axel. He’s probably just trying to get in your head. Trick you, you know?”

“ You think?”

“ Yeah. Probably.” Aura shrugged. 

“ Hey.” Sora and Aura looked over as Seifer walked down the steps leading into the Sandlot. “ How about you get out of my town now. You’ve done enough damage.”

“ Damage?” Aura questioned. “ We just saved your life.”

“ I had the situation under control.”   


“ Sure you did.”

“ Sis, it’s OK. Let’s just go.”

“ Right. Right.” Aura nodded before turning her back on Seifer as the siblings left the Sandlot and returned to the Tram Common.

“ Sora!” The two were met by Donald and Goofy. “ Are you OK?”

“ I’m fine Donald.” Sora looked around the Tram Common. Some of the plants and shop roofs were on fire. The ground, broken in several place. Several walls were broken. “What happened here?”

“ After ya left, we were ambushed by Nobodies.” Goofy explained. “We were able to hold out but they vanished a few minutes ago.”

“ After Saix left…”

“ Saix? Who’s Saix?” Donald looked up at Sora.

“ One of the black coats. He mentioned something about Riku and wanting to control me.”

“ I told you to forget about that.” Aura told her brother.

“ Right. Right. Sorry.”

“ So what now?” Aura asked.

“ I think. I’m going to head to Hollow Bastion and see Leon.”

“ Those new friends of yours?”

“ Yeah. They’re looking for the Organisations world using some old files they found.” Aura nodded. “ Hey. Why don’t you-”

“ Sora, we went over this with Riku last year. She can’t come.” Donald interjected

“ Whaaat?”

“ There’s no room in the Gummy Ship for her. I’m sorry, but she can’t come.”

“ That’s fine.” Aura held a hand up. “ I get it. Someone’s gotta stay here and keep the peace, after all. Might as well be me, right?”

“ Are you sure, sis?” Aura nodded.

“ Just promise me a few things?” 

“ What?”

“ One, you come back for me once all this is settled, assuming we don’t meet before it’s all settled. I like this place but I like our home more. Two, make sure you save Kairi and beat Axel and that blue haired guy over the head for me. And three…” Aura smiled lightly. “ Just… come back safe? Alright?”

“ Heh. Can do.”

“ And you two. Donald. Goofy. Keep him out of trouble? Please?”

“ Yes Ma’am.” Goofy said with a smile.

“ Well, we can try but you know Sora.” Donald joked.

“ Hee hee hee. I do. Sorry for pushing this burden on you.”

“ Hey!” Sora shouted. “ I’m right here!” The group then laughed. Soon after, with a last hug between siblings, Sora left the world, leaving Aura, once again, on her own in an unfamiliar place.

****************

“ Hey, guys. How did I know you’d be here?”

“ Where did you go, ____?”

“ I didn’t go anywhere. What about you two? Did you guys go somewhere without me?”

“ Axel says he was asleep all day.”

“ What? What’s that about? You wasted a day off?”

“ Unlike you lazybones, I work hard, so I’m tired, OK?”

“ Unlike me and Roxas, maybe you’re just out of shape!”

“ Ha ha ha!”

“ Ha ha ha!”

“ Ha ha ha!”

****************

Aura awoke with a pain in her head and an intense burning in her heart. She was able to afford a few night's at the local inn with the munney in her purse. She hoped it was all she needed. She looked over at the clocktower from her room. “Ugh. What was that vision?” She murmured. “ Axel? Roxas? And… that other voice. She sounded… so familiar.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aura cares about her little brother. Really.


	3. World of Nothingness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aura reunites with an old friend as the party enter enemy territory

Aura, Hayner, Pence and Olette met up that morning. It was from them that she learned reports of figures in dark coats were often around the town though sightings had trailed off as of a few weeks prior to Aura’s arrival. Aura assumed that may have meant something and decided to investigate the town. The trio decided to help her out. They started out small. Talked to people about sightings and possible strange activities. They ended up investigating the Sunset Terrace from top to bottom, investigating what were known as the Seven Wonders of Twilight Town but found nothing. The final spot to search was an old manor in the woods. But the sun was setting, the four were tired from running around so much, so they grabbed ice cream, talked for an hour and returned home, or to the Inn in Aura’s case.

Aura found the Inn comfortable but that night she had another dream. The mysterious girl from the night before running through some woods towards an old manor, a mysterious chameleon like monster chasing her through the trees. She woke up with a start in the middle of the night, her heart burning. “ This town is doing something to me.” Aura murmured. Her nightmare didn’t return.

At midday, the four arrived in front of the old manor. “ This place?” Aura looked around.

“ Yeah. It’s an old manor that’s been long since abandoned. Rumour has it though sometimes a young girl in white appears in the second story window. The one decorated for the manor owners daughter.” Pence motioned to the white curtains at the top floor. Aura looked up before looking at the manor again. It was the place from her nightmare the night before. She saw it through the eyes of the mysterious, nameless girl. 

“ This has to be the place.” Aura said. “ There has to be something here.”   
“ How can you tell?” Hayner asked.

“ Call it instinct.” As Aura began heading fro the manor, the group was surrounded by more nobodies. “ Ah! Now?”

“ Oh no.” Olette gasped. Aura shot the ground, creating a barrier. The nobodies began attacking it. 

“ This is a problem.” Aura growled. “ They’ll break through eventually and even my arrows can’t pierce the barrier.”

“ What do we do then?” Hayner asked.

“ Wait and hope?” Aura suggested.

“ What?”

“ I can deal with the ones in a certain direction. You guys can run and I… will work on that.”

“ We won’t let you do that.” Olette cried.

“ As much as your welcome to die with me, I’d rather you not.”

“ And what other choice is there?” Pence asked nervously.

“ Don’t give up.” The four looked around in confusing. Suddenly, light rained down from above. The nobodies were immediately wiped out. In front of them, a familiar looking mouse man dropped down from the tree line. He looked back at them. “ Aura. Are you alright?”

“ That voice? Mickey?”Mickey looked from left to right, frantically. Then he sighed. 

“ OK. Coast is clear.” Aura nodded, dropping her barrier. Mickey looked up at her.

“ Phew. Thanks for the assist, Mickey.”

“ Aw, it was nothing. I was heading to the manor and saw you in danger. I recognised the quiver.” Mickey smiled. “ It seems you’ve gotten a lot stronger since we last met.”   
“ Eh. Just a year basic training with Captain Jecht.” Aura rolled her shoulder. “ Learned a few new tricks and got better in my older ones. That’s all.”

“ I see. So. Is this your home?”

“ Actually.” Aura explained to Mickey everything that had happened with Axel and Kairi. Mickey looked troubled.

“ I see. Sora said as much.”

“ You met him?”

“ In Hollow Bastion. There was a large fight against the heartless forces, the organisation's nobodies and the residents of Hollow Bastion. Sora and I helped them out. He told me then about what happened with Axel and Kairi. He never mentioned he learned that from you though.”

“ Ugh. Typical dolt. I told him to stay out of trouble.” Aura shook her head. As if on cue, however, a second voice and three sets of footsteps approached them.

“ HEEEEEEY! AURAAAAA! GUUUYS!” Sora called over running up to them. 

“ YOUR MAJESTY!” Donald and Goofy yelled.

“ Hah. Speak of the idiot. Hey bro.” Aura chuckled.

“ Sis. Your majesty. What are you both doing here?”

“ Dunno about Mickey, but me and the guys came to check the manor out. We’ve been looking into the black coats.”

“ They’ve been around the town for about a year now.” Pence explained. “ Of all the mysterious goings on, the manor seems to be the centre of it all.”

“ Wait, back up. Aura, you know Mickey?” Sora asked.

“ I told you before didn’t I? I ran into two people in the Realm of Darkness and they taught me how to use my Pulsar Arrows.”

“ You never said one of them was Mickey!”

“ I didn’t know you two knew.” 

“ Now now, you two.” Mickey said, holding in a laugh.

“ Right. Sorry.” Aura waved her hand. “ So. What brings you lot here?

“ It was the last place we could look, admittedly.” Sora rubbed the back of his neck. “ But get this. When we were travelling here, we saw what looked like a second Twilight Town behind the first.”

“ Blurry vision?”

“ No, he’s right.” Goofy told her. “ It was like it was er… super… super impoverished?”

“ Superimposed.” Donald corrected him.

“ Yeah. Like this Twilight Town was superimposed over the other one.”

“ That’s odd…”

“ As for me, I’m here for a favour for a friend.” Mickey said.

“ Oh. That reminds me. Your majesty, what happened to Riku?” Sora asked. “You mentioned you two made it out of the Realm of Darkness but…” Mickey sighed.

“ I’m sorry Sora, but I just can’t say. I promised-” Mickey cut himself off.

“ Promised? Promised who?”

“ Riku, right you majesty?” Olette asked. “ Riku asked you not to say. Am I right?” Mickey looked shock before smiling sadly. He nodded slowly.

“ Then he’s OK!” Sora sighed in relief.

“ This is about what Saix said, isn’t it?” Aura asked. Sora looked at her in shock before laughing nervously. Aura growled. “ I told you to forget about it.”

“ Sorry. Couldn’t help it.”

“ Stupid dolt…” Aura muttered. “ Let’s just go inside. We won’t find anything out here.” The group agreed before heading in. Everyone searched the manor in pairs. Donald and Goofy managed the out doors. Hayner and Olette checked the lower floor and it’s rooms. Mickey and Pence went off to check the library. Finally, Sora and Aura checked the odd white room. “ This place is off.” Aura picked up one of the drawings on the white central table. “ This is you.”

“ What?” Sora looked over at the drawing. It was a crayon drawing of Sora, Donald and Goofy entering some kind of castle. “ This is… creepy.”

“ Tell me about it.” Aura slowly walked around the room. She saw a number of crayon drawings. Some were Sora and his companions in what seemed to be a number of adventures. FIghting heartless and people with black coats. Another one was three people in black coats. A man with red hair, Axel, a blond haired boy and a third figure that seemed to have been scribbled out. Aura noticed a picture in the corner that seemed to show her with Kairi standing on the shores of the Vacant Island. “ Who drew these? Aside from a few, they all seem to be of either you or someone close to you. It’s like a stalker shrine.”

“ It is a bit unnerving. And yet this room seems… familiar somehow. I dunno. Like I’ve been here before.” Sora ran a finger over the table.

“ Really?”

“ Yeah.” Sora looked over at his sister, leaning against the table. “ Truth is, a bit over a week ago, me, Donald and Goofy woke up in the basement of this mansion.”

“ Really?”

“ Yeah. We never really explored it though. Just wanted to see where we were.” Sora looked at the window. “ And yet there’s some part of my heart telling me this room is important somehow.”

“ Hmm. I dunno about that.” Aura mumbled. Then the door was pushed open.

“ Guys.” Hayner told them. “ Pence and the King found something.”

The underground of the mansion was completely different from above. It was far more technological. More advanced. “ And you didn’t think this was suspicious?” Aura asked Sora.

“ Hey, we weren’t in here for very long. Don’t blame me.” Sora said nervously. They found Pence typing away on the computer. 

“ There’s a password lock. I can’t get around it.” Pence told the others. “ Got any clues?”

“ Black Coat? Evil? Mwu Ha Ha Ha?” Aura jokingly suggested. “ Password?”

“ Tried all but ‘Mwu Ha Ha Ha’.” Pence tried it just in case. It didn’t work. “ Anything else?” Everyone thought for a minute.

“ Hey Sora. Remember that box we found?” Goofy asked.

“ Box?”

“ Yeah. In it was that picture and…”

“ The Salty Sweet ice cream.” Donald announced.

“ Oh yeah. That boy...”

“ ‘Sea-Salt Ice cream’” Pence muttered typing it in. The computer sprung to life. “Huh?”

“ What the…” Aura looked over Pence’s shoulder. Pence typed in a few more keys. Off to the side, a device activated, summoning a strange portal. “ Well, that certainly looks like something.”

“ That might lead to the other Twilight Town we saw.” Sora said. “ And from there, we should be able to reach the Organisations home world with any luck.”

“ Right you are, Sora. Thanks to Ansem the Wise, we should be able to go straight through here and go straight to the Organisations main base.” Mickey said. “ I’ll go on ahead to check things out.”

“ We’ll be through right after you.” Mickey nodded at Sora’s remark before reaching out and touching the beam. As he did, a stream of light, fragmented into what looked to be numbers and code, came down, whisking him off to the other Twilight Town.

“ We’ll stay here. Hold down the fort.” Hayner told Sora.

“ Say hi to Kairi for us.” Olette asked

“ Of course.” Sora looked at his sister. “ I’ll come back for you. Promise.”

“ Come back? Wait, you aren’t leaving me here. I’m coming too.” Aura protested.

“ What? But it’s too dangerous!”

“ And you expect me to let my little brother to wander off to parts unknown into that danger? No. I can help this time around. Nothing is gonna stop that.” Aura gave Sora a determined look before walking past him and standing next to the beam. “ I promised I’d bring you home that night, you know? When the storm was raging. Right before our world was lost.” Aura looked back at him. “ I’ll keep that promise today.” Sora looked at her in shock before smiling and nodding. 

“ Alright. It’ll be good to have you by my side. Let’s go get Kairi and Riku back.” Sora joined her. Donal and Goofy weren’t far behind. Before she went, Aura tossed some keys to Olette. 

“ Give those back to the Innkeeper, would you? Tell him thanks for letting me stay.”

“ Will do.” Olette nodded. Aura smiled. Then all four of them touched the beam and were teleported to the other version of Twilight Town.

****************

The trip through the false Twilight Town was a short one. After looking over a broken beyond repair version of the computer that brought them here, Mickey called them into the next room. There was a portal, flashing and radiating energy. “ This has to be it.” He said. “ This’ll lead to the Organisations world. Where we can put an end to Xemnas’ schemes.”

“ Right.” Sora nodded.

“ So we go in there, find Riku, save Kairi, kick Saix and whatever other black coats and monsters try to stop us to the curb and return to the Islands for dinner.” Aura smiled. “ Sounds like a plan.”

“ Are you sure you want to come, Aura?” Mickey asked. “ It’s gonna be dangerous.”   
“ More dangerous than that shadow realm we were trapped in last year?” Aura raised an eyebrow. “ Besides, as you said, I’ve gotten stronger since then. Trust me. I can help.”

“ Fine. I understand.” Mickey nodded. “ Well then guys, should we get going?”

“ No time like the present.”

“ Let’s go.” Sora headed in first, followed close behind by Donald and Goofy and, at the back, Aura and Mickey. They arrived in a swirling vortex. A corridor between two plains. Two worlds. The group didn’t give it much thought, progressing onward. But Sora stopped, letting the others go on ahead. No sooner had they passed him then did a group of nobodies surround him. Aura turned to fight but the group were suddenly forced out and pushed from the corridor and into a new world.

Skyscrapers rose all around the group as they arrived in the Organisations home base. The sky was black, with the lights of the cityscape illuminating the night. Aura didn’t give it much of a look as tried to re-enter the corridor only to find that the way the came was gone. “SORA!” Aura yelled. She slammed her fist into the wall behind them, where the portal likely once was. “ No…”

“ Aura…” Mickey shook his head. “ We have to trust Sora will be fine.”

“ But-”

“ He’s been through worse odds alone.” Donald spoke up. “ During the battle of Hollow Bastion, he took down 1000 heartless.”   
“ Yeah. And in our first adventure, he fought through heartless hordes with just a wooden sword in hand in order to rescue Kairi.” Goofy told her.

“ But… I can’t just…” Aura sighed sadly. “ I promised mom I’d keep him safe and bring him back home. I can’t mess this up again.”

“ Aura…” Mickey went to pat her on the back when a strange noise caught their attention.

“ Hey guys. What are you all moping around for? I was only gone a few minutes.” Aura looked behind her, spinning on her heels. Sora smiled, a dark corridor behind him. Aura growled before hitting him over the head with her bow. “ Hey! What was that for?!”

“ For pulling such a stupid stunt.”   
“ Heh heh. Sorry.” Sora scratched the back of his head. “ I’m lucky thought. Axel sacrificed himself to get me out of that mess. And now I know who has Kairi.”

“ Axel? That spiky haired guy?”

“ Yeah. He got me out of there. Said Saix has Kairi. He got tricked into thinking Kairi could bring his friend back. He was a nobody but when a nobody dies, they are erased from existence. Saix took Kairi from him and Axel realised he was tricked, he tried to help. But now he’s gone too.”

“ Hmm…” Aura hummed in thought. “ Whatever. Let’s just get moving.”

“ I’ll head on ahead.” Mickey told the group. “ I need to find Ansem the Wise. If I see Riku, I’ll send him over to you guys.”

“ Are you sure, Mickey?” Aura asked. Mickey nodded.

“ Don’t worry. I’ll be fine. I’ve done fine on my own up until now.”

“ Be safe, your majesty.” Sora told him. Mickey again nodded before running off into the city. “ We should get going as well.”

“ This place is enemy territory, right?” Aura said. “ We should proceed with caution. These things pop up out of no-where after all.”

“ Heh. We run through places like this all the time.” Sora said, confidently.

“ Mostly because of Sora’s impatience.” Donald continued.

“ You don’t have to tell her that.”

“ Patience is a virtue, Sora.” Aura rolled her neck. “ Alright then. If we’re gonna run, then let’s run.”

****************

The four ran through the city streets. Aura quickly realised why Sora wanted to run through everything. The enemy was everywhere. Far too many to take out one at a time. The only enemies that Sora, Donald, Goofy and Aura decided to fight were those in front of them. Eventually, they entered a large open plot of land in the shadow of a skyscraper that seemed even larger than those before it. Behind lay a path that seemed to lead straight up to a giant, floating castle. “ Let’s stop and rest.” Aura suggested.

“ Right.” Sora let out a deep breath. “ I don’t know what’s worse? This place or old Hollow Bastion.”

“ They’re everywhere…” Donald complained.

“ At least we made it through.” Goofy said, trying to raise everyone's hopes. 

“ I guess your right about… huh?” Sora’s eyes looked over at the Skyscraper.

“ What is it?” Aura asked. Then Sora collapsed. “ Sora! Gah!” Aura staggered as she tried to rush over to him, falling to one knee. Her heart started to burn intensely. She coughed. “ What… is this… feeling? It hurts...”

“ Aura!” Goofy yelled over. Nobodies holding swords appeared, surrounding the group. Aura, still clutching her chest in pain, slowly rose to her feet.

“ Don’t… worry about me.” She grit her teeth. “ Eyes...up. Look after… Sora…”

“  _ Pretender _ .” Aura heard the word as nothing more than a whisper

“ What?” She didn’t have time to question it before one of the Samurai nobodies charged. Aura barely was able to block it’s sword with her bow. Five of the group of ten surrounded her, the other five stopping Donald and Goofy from interfering, not attacking them and Sora but not letting them attack either. “ What’s your deal?”

“ _ You would replace our liege. We will not allow it.” _

“ What are you… talking about?” Aura growled. Another Samurai swung in. Aura shot an arrow at its feet, causing an explosion that knocked it backwards. This followed by a third from behind. Aura barely blocked this one but was open for a fourth to slash her from her side. Aura gasped in pain. She growled, firing a trio of her piercing arrows forwards. The samurai she was targeting deflected one but was caught by the curve of the other two. It was shot down before vanishing. However, another took up it’s place, readying it’s blade. They began circling her. Every now and again, one or two of them would charge. Aura’s heart continued to burn as she blocked blow after blow. She was able to take another two out with mines, but they were, like the first, replaced by a seventh and an eighth. Donald and Goofy could only watch on. Whenever they tried to intervene, one would appear and attack them, forcing them to defend. After a while, Aura was beginning to feel worn out, panting.

“ Aura Behind you!” Goofy warned. Aura spun a bit too late and felt a blade pierce her left side. She roared in pain.  _ Am I gonna die here? _ She thought

_No!_ She heard a voice say. Aura breathed. Her body felt like it was running on auto pilot. She looked up, aimed her bow at one of the nobodies and fired. As she fired, a half dozen rays of light fired from behind her. The beams eviscerated her target. 

“ Rag….na...rok.” Aura muttered. She fired again. And again. And again. The burning in her heart changed from pain and started giving her strength. The samurai’s, sensing the change, all charged at her. Even as Aura aimed slowly before firing her piercing shots, from behind her the rays of light kept firing like some other force was controlling what ever was firing them, cutting down her foes in rays of holy destruction. Soon, none of the samurai were left standing, all of them fading away. Aura collapsed to her knees, her bow clattering to the ground and the pain retreating inside of her heart. 

“ Aura!” Donald and Goofy yelled as the girl collapsed to the stone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is where that Canon Divergence tag starts actually starts making a bit more sense other than Aura existing.


	4. The Freeshooter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aura tests her bow against the marksman of Organization XIII.

“ What… happened” Aura found herself lying on stain glass, looking up at a number of sparkling crystals, dotting the darkness like stars in the sky.

“ I’m sorry. I don’t know why I did that.” It was the voice from before that talked to her. The one she let take refuge in her heart and that she hear in those visions since she had arrived in Twilight Town. “ It’s just… I’ve been… feeling really weird lately.”

“ Is that what that burning feeling in my heart is? You?”

“ I’m sorry.”

“ No. It’s fine. You helped me, right?”

“ Yeah.” The voice sighed. “ I just felt… a really familiar presence. Someone very important to me. It… woke something inside of me.”

“ That power?”

“ It’s called… Replicate. I think. I can copy the powers of others. Like Sora…”

“ And Axel?” 

“ I think that was me too. Yes. But, somehow, my power is leaking out into you. I’m sorry. I don’t mean too…”

“ Don’t worry about it. You saved me with that ability. I can’t be angry at that.”

“ Thanks.” The voice went silent for a minute before speaking up again. “ I think… I remember something else.”

“ Yeah?”

“ My name. I think it begins with an X”

“ Should I start calling you X then?” Aura asked. The voice laughed.

“ If you want.” X told her.

“ Alright then X. Well, if you find anything else out…”

“ I’ll tell you. And until then, if hope my power helps.”

“ I’m sure it will. Thank you, X.”

****************

Aura stirred with a groan. “ Sora!” She heard Donald’s voice call. “ She’s waking up.”

“ Really?” Aura eyes fluttered open to see Sora rushing over to her. “ Hey Sis. Are you… alright?”

“ Yeah. Just have a hell of a head ache. You?”

“ Me? I’m fine. Just had some… trouble of my own to deal with.”

“ Ha. Such a dolt as always, Roxas.” Aura chuckled. Sora looked at her in schock, Donal and Goofy in confusion.

“ Roxas?”

“ Huh? Did I say that?”

“ You did.” Goofy confirmed.

“ That’s weird. I don’t know why I said that.” Aura felt a small warmth in her heart fade. “ Whatever. So what happened?”

“ Well-” Goofy began only to get cut off.

“ A GIANT GHOSTLY PINCER SWORD APPEARED BEHIND YOU AT STARTED FIRING LASERS WHEN YOU WERE FIGHTING!” Donald yelled. “ HOW’D YOU DO THAT?”

“ I’m… not sure, to be honest. I think… I had some help.” She pressed the side of her jacket, only to find, though the sword cut in her clothes was still there, her wound was fully gone. “ Huh? Wasn’t I… injured?”

“ You can thank me for that!” Donald proclaimed, proudly.

“ Curaga. It heals all wounds.” Sora explained. “ Though I wish you’d use that on me sometimes.”

“ I’m busy during combat. You can do it yourself.”

“ Not all the time. It’s draining.”

“ Boys. Boys. You’re both helpful. Calm down.” Aura picked herself off the ground. She picked up her quiver from next to her and refastened it to her self, grabbing her bow from it’s usual resting place inside the quiver. Aura looked around. They were staring off the edge of a cliff and into a chasm. The castle from before was floating above that chasm. Connecting the cliff face to the castle was a bridge of light. “ I’m surprised you didn’t go on without me?”

“ And leave you here? Nuh uh. No way.” Sora shook his head. “ We said we’d go together.”

“ Heh. I guess I should thank you for waiting up. Any sign of Riku? Or Kairi?” Sora shook his head. 

“ No. But this bridge had to come from somewhere. It doesn’t see like the regular entry way at any rate.” Sora looked forwards. Aura rolled her shoulder, fully waking herself up.

“ Well, no time like the present. Sorry to hold you guys up.”

****************

Fighting through the castle was much like fighting through the city except in much narrower corridors. They were attacked from all sides. Spinning nobodies with blade like arms rose from the ground and exploded on them. Dancing nobodies cutting through corridors. They ended up on an elevator at one point only to get jumped by dragon like nobodies with spears diving down from above. Soon, they ended up in a small arena like room. “ So. What’s behind door number a billion?” Aura snarked as they stepped in.

“ My. Is that a question you really want answered?” A cocky, laid back sounding voice asked. In the next second, the four were barraged from above by gunfire. Aura was able to set down a barrier, protecting the group just long enough, the last bullet shattering the barrier. A man in a black coat and wearing an eyepatch stepped into view from a higher level. “ So, Sora. Have you been a good boy?”

“ Xigbar!” Sora yelled.

“ Hmm. Sounds you haven’t.”

“ Ugh. Who’s this clown?” Aura groaned.

“ Clown? As if.” Xigbar looked insulted. “ Y’know, Saix told us about his little miscalculation. Didn’t think ya’d be so stupid to just leap straight into the Lion’s den. Especially, with that half baked keyblade wielder. I mean, the last guys were nothing special but him? Ha ha ha. Man, what a dud the keyblade chose this time around. How you beat the others, I have no idea.” Sora growled. The sound of fighting higher up drew his attention however. “ Ah. Speaking of other keyblade wielders…” Sora gasped. High above them, Kairi was seen, surrounded by heartless, along with another man in a black coat. 

“ Oh no! Kairi!”

“ Uh oh. Looks like that girlfriend of yours ain’t doing so hot.”

“ Sora, let’s go. We don’t have time to waste on this guy.” Aura told him. Sora nodded only for the group to get interrupted by another round of fire.

“ Ah ah ah. Don’t think I’ll let that slide.” Instead of acknowledging Xigbar, Aura shot an arrow into the wall below the gap between their platform and the door. A barrier appeared. 

“ Sora. Donald. Goofy. Go.” Aura told him. Sora nodded and the trio ran across. As Aura ran to join then, Xigbar blocked her path. 

“ Aura!” Sora yelled. Aura growled.

“ Kairi needs your help more than me. I’ve got this guy. Go save Kairi.” Aura leapt back, priming her bow. 

“ Are you sure?” Aura nodded. “ Alright. Catch up when you can, Sis.” Sora, Donald and Goofy ran on ahead.

“ Cocky, ain’t we?” Xigbar aimed a gun at Aura. “ Thinking you can beat one such as me.”

“ Heh. I’ve trained with a rougher old man than you, pirate. I’ll shoot you down. So, eyes. Up.”

“ Ooh. You’re a little spitfire, huh?” Xigbar grinned. He fired a round. Aura moved to swat it out of the air with her bow. However, the bullet spilt in midair, scattering smaller bullets towards her. Aura quickly dodged backwards, staggering slightly as she felt her foot at the edge of the arena before leaping forwards again. The bullet left a number of holes where Aura had been. “ Hey. You remind me of someone, y’know? Have we ever met before?”

“ You’re the third person in your group to ask me that question. Answer is still ‘never’”

“ Huh. Is that right… I could’ve sworn…” Xigbar laughed. “ Now I know. Your like one of those old keyblade wielders. Got a face like a just offed your goldfish, just like he did. Wanna know a little secret about those three? They’re all gone now. Finished off. Guess by who? You’re looking at him. Well, I helped.” Xigbar scratched at his ear. “ Let’s see. Ventus, Terra and… Aqua, I think their names were. Bout 9 years ago.”

“ Aqua. But that’s…”

“ Yep. That’s the truth about the old keyblade wielders. And we’ll finish off you’re bro too. Well, after he’s helped us achieve our final goal of course.” Aura growled. “ Is this a reality that can be stopped by you, I wonder?” Xigbar laughed mockingly.

“ I can’t believe that reality.”

“ That’s why this battle is unavoidable. Even if there’s another answer, it’s gotta come down to this.” Xigbar fired several shots at Aura. Aura fired the arrow in her bow, firing a piercing shot through the bullets. Xigbar teleported. Aura watched as he reappeared, his feet stuck upside down to thin air. “ Sometimes I think Xemnas is less interested in Kingdom Hearts and more how to manipulate Keyblade wielders though. Just like that old fart.”

“ Old fart?” Aura spun an arrow in her hand and held her bow sideways. “ Xigbar. What are your master’s intentions really?” Aura fired the arrow, spinning like one of Axel’s Chakrams. “Pulsar Arrow: Catherine Wheel.”

“ Woah.” Xigbar dodged out of the way of the flaming arrow, chuckling. “ Woah. Almost felt that one. You get that from Axel?” Xigbar hoped down, landing feet on the ground, and aimed both guns at Aura. “ Well, whatever. After I finish you, I’m gonna take down that princess chick and then deal with the traitor.” Aura drew her bow back, an arrow charging between the wood and the string, a face of anger on her face, light growing on the tip. “ Don’t look so peeved. I’m sure Sora would be happy being relieved of the burden of saving everything or whatever he thinks he’s doing here.”

“ Don’t you dare. There’s no way Sora would want something like that.” Aura watched as Xigbar’s face slowly dropped from being cold yet cocky to serious. His smile dropped to a scowl. His eye widened. He suddenly seemed to become angry.

“ Not possible… you…” He muttered angrily. Xigbar narrowed his eye. Then he started firing. Bullet after bullet flew through the sky. They seemed to come from everywhere, portals opening all around Xigbar, sending an endless hail of diamond shaped bullets. In response, Aura released her arrow.

“ Ragnarok.” The arrow split into a number of light rays, spinning in a circle before unleashing numerous waves of scorching beams towards Xigbar. The light and the bullets collided, causing a number of flashes as they canceled each other out. Aura grit her teeth as a number of bullets made it past, cutting at her, slashing a wound in her cheek, legs and arms. On the other side of the room, Xigbar was faring just as poorly but was taking it far better. He stood uncaring as smoke started rising up from where light scorched his black coat. Eventually, both sides ammo was depleted. The ground was scorched from light and scarred from edged bullets. The arms of Aura’s jacket was hanging on by the threads and her jeans were scratched at the sides and the knees. A few of her hairs fell to the ground and she had a single cut across her cheek. Xigbar, meanwhile, had scorch marks from the light rays darkening his already dark coat, producing smoke from the hit spots, and his pony tail was far shorter than it had been, the ends seared from the ray that had burnt the rest off. Smoke rose up to the upper levels as both stood silently. A single voice broke through.

“ AURA!” From the upper levels, Sora leapt down. Xigbar smirked and snapped his fingers.

“ Time to change the backdrop.” The ground vanished under where Sora would have landed. Aura moved fast. She fired three barrier arrows. As the barriers enlarged, they created a trio of platforms that allowed Sora to drop down with ease. Xigbar clicked his tongue.

“ Phew. That was close.”

“ That was reckless.” Aura berated her brother. 

“ I agree.” Aura was surprised as Kairi dropped to the opposite side of her, holding a flower covered keyblade of her own. They were then joined by a tall man with dark skin.

“ Gah! What the-” Aura aimed her bow at the new black coat but Sora but a hand on her arm.

“ Wait! Don’t!”

“ He’s friendly!” Kairi yelled.

“ Eh. What?” Across from them, Xigbar laughed. “ Grr. You better explain later.”

“ Of course.” The new man nodded.

“ Man, you guys are stupid.” Xigbar laughed. “ But if ya all wanna die together…” Xigbar aimed at the trio.

“ Aura.” The mysterious man said. “ Use those barriers to trap him. When I give the signal, release it.”

“ Huh?” Aura looked at him. He glanced back. His eyes looked cold yet somewhat familiar to Aura. She sighed. “ Fine. I’ll figure it out.” Aura ran forwards. 

“ Not letting your friends have any fun?” Xigbar chuckled. Aura ignored him.

“ X. Help me out.” She muttered. She felt a familiar warmth in her heart answer her. She looked at Xigbar’s gun, her eyes glowing slightly, before drawing an arrow and firing. The arrow split in midair, turning into a number of smaller arrows. Xigbar looked at the attack, his eye wide, before side stepping.

“ Hey did you just copy me?”

“ No.” She spun and fired a second arrow. “ I just replicated your earlier move.”

“ Same difference.” Xigbar growled as he hoped backwards. Aura curved two more piercer arrows towards him. Xigbar blinked forwards out of the way of the two, only to step on the arrow head dropped from Aura’s second shot. Xigbar was surrounded in energy, causing him to cry out in pain. Aura took advantage of this moment to fire an arrow at his feet, causing a barrier to erect around him. 

“ Sora! Kairi! Now!” The man cried. 

“ On it, Riku!” Sora called back.

“ Like this, right?” Kairi leapt in the air, spinning once, before coming down on Xigbar’s location. Sora and the black coated man swung at ground level, Sora from the left and the man from the right. Xigbar sneered. 

“ Nice try but-” Xigbar tried to teleport only to find himself back in the same place, colliding with the barrier wall. “ What? This light. Ha. Clever little sneak.”

“ Aura! Now!”.

“ On it!” Aura dropped the barrier. A second later, the three keyblade wielders struck, slashing Xigbar in three directions. The man gasped, dropping his guns and dropping to his knees.

“ Not bad, Roxas. Not bad at all.” Xigbar’s guns vanished. Xigbar himself started to distort. “ Welp. I had fun but looks like times up. Slow claps for you four kiddos.”  
“ Who is Roxas?” Sora yelled.

“ Heh. Wouldn’t you like to know?” Xigbar grinned at the group. “ Catch ya round.” Xigbar’s formed vanished, dissipating like a fine mist. Aura let out a breath she forgot she’d been holding.

“ Thanks guys. Appreciate it.” She said.

“ Heh. What’s family for.” Sora laughed. Aura responded by hitting him with her bow before putting it back in her quiver. 

“ That was for jumping from that high. Seriously, you could have broken your leg. It may have been fine on the Islands, but in that situation, it would have been fatal. And you two.” Aura looked at them. “ Kairi. Sorry. I couldn’t protect you from Axel.”

“ Oh that.” Kairi laughed. “ It’s not a problem. Don’t worry about it.”

“ Thanks. And you. Black Coat.” Aura looked at him. “ You called him Riku? I’m assuming that was a slip of the tongue. Right?” Sora and Kairi looked away. “ RIGHT?”

“ No. It wasn’t.” The black coated man told her. “ I am Riku.”

“ You look and sound nothing like him.”

“ But his heart’s the same. Sora interjected.

“ And you know that how?”

“ I… I just know, alright?”

“ It is him, Aura.” Kairi said. “ If you don;t believe just Sora, believe me too.” Aura looked at her. She closed her eyes, backing down.

“ Fine.” Aura said reluctantly. “ If you are, Riku, I’m sorry. You just look weird.”

“ Trust me. I’m aware of how I look.”

“ I’ll trust you. You helped take out captain creepazoid.” Aura looked at him and smiled. “ It’s good to see you again, Riku.”

“ You too, Aura.” Riku smiled. The four began to leave the room. As they did, they met up with Donald, Goofy and Mickey coming down from the upper levels. Aura began coughing as the damage from her battle against Xigbar finally hit her. She was answered by a Curaga from Sora, whom she thanked. She ran her finger over her cheek, noticing a slight bump on the skin. 

“ Of course it left a scar.”

****************

The group travelled together, all seven of them as one large fighting force moving up the castle. As such, the fights became less strenuous. She noticed Kairi flailing her weapon around a bit and smirked. “So.” She asked. “ I’m guessing you just got that thing, huh?”

“ Is it that obvious?” Kairi asked nervously. 

“ Yeah, but don’t forget. Island home guard’s ace in the whole, according to Captain Jecht. I think I can spot a novice a mile off at this rate. I guess this as good a training place as ever. Though just don’t trust Sora to teach you sword play.”

“ He still swings it like a club, doesn’t he?” The two giggled. Sora sighed.

“ I can here you, ya know?”  
“ I mean, they aren’t wrong.” Riku told him. “ It’s why you never beat me. We’re at 42-0 right?”

“ 42-2.” Sora corrected him.

“ I’ll except 42-1. That last one was Ansem. It doesn’t count.”

“ And you two are still bickering about scores here?” Aura said exasperated. “I take it back. There’s no way that’s not Riku.”

“ Boy will be boys.” Kairi joked.

“ You mean stupid?” Aura snarked.

“ Hey!” Both Sora and Riku yelled.

Soon they arrived at a new room. It was filled with tombstones. Some were glowing but most were broken. Aura knelt down next to some of them. “Melodious Nocturne. Gambler of Fate. Graceful Assassin. Savage Nymph.” Aura looked up. “ What… are these?”

“ Nobodies don’t exist. At least not officially.” Riku told her. “ This is the proof of their existence.”

“ A graveyard.” Kairi gasped.

“ That’s just creepy” Aura said, shaking her head. She hummed looking over them. Thirteen in all. _Why does it feel like one's missing?_ She thought.

“ We can’t go forwards from here.” Mickey told the group. “ This barrier. Eve the Keyblade can’t open it. We have to shut it down or we can’t keep moving.”

“ Where do we look.” Sora asked. 

“ We can try here.” Riku gestured to one of the glowing tombstones over a picture of a set of playing cards titled “The Gambler of Fate”. “ It seems to be the only way open.”

“ It’s a good of place to start as any, I suppose.” Aura agreed.

“ Then what are we waiting for?” Donald squawked. “ Let’s a get a move on.”

“ Right.” Everyone else said before moving inside.

****************

They arrived in an alcove on the roof of the castle, hanging above the castle courtyard. Aura stepped out and looked around, followed by everyone else. “ Nope.” She said. “ Looks like this place is a dud.”

“ Hey!” Goofy called. He looked up at the heart shaped moon. “ What is that?” A beam of light fired towards the moon. In the centre, a small dark spot was forming. “ Something’s happening up there.”

“ What is that?” Sora asked.

“ Ansem the Wise…” Mickey realised. “ That must be his machine."

“ Machine?” Aura asked. He nodded. 

“ I saw him before coming up here. He was carrying some sort of machine. I talked to him but he went on ahead when the nobodies attacked. He said that he was trying to undo the damage caused by his apprentices. He feels a lot of responsibility.”

“ I can get that…” Aura muttered, looking at Sora.

“ What was that Sis?”

“ Nothing. Don’t worry about it.”

“ Indeed. However, if Kingdom Hearts falls, we shall not get the power we seek. Truly, it is a miserable circumstance.” Over on the ledge, another organization member with blond hair and a goatee appeared, also looking up at the moon. “ And yet, I do wonder if that is Xemnas’ real ploy. I’ll never learn. Though we are only three men now, I’m still being left to rot away at the bottom rung. How pitiful are we who should not exist.”

“ Luxord!” Sora yelled.

“ Sora!” Luxord yelled back.

“ Good. You know each others names.” Aura snarked.

“ Ah. And you must be the miscalculation. I must say, you seem-”

“ -Familiar. Yeah, I hear that a lot from you people.”

“ Then I shall skip the formalities. Let’s skip right into the game, shall we Sora?” Luxord snapped his fingers. Everyone other than Sora was surrounded by cards. The cards spun for a few seconds before scattering. When they did, Luxord was gone but Sora still stood except behind them now instead of in front.

“ Sora?” Kairi asked.

“ Did you just… do a magic trick?” Aura said, equally confused.

“ I don’t know. Luxord faded away.” Sora told them. “ He said Saix is incharge of the barrier device. Then he wished us luck.”

“ No use staying here any longer.” Riku told the others. “ Let’s go find Saix.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did I foreshadow who X is too much? Probably.


	5. The Wise and The Foolish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group make it past Saix's barrier.

Saix’s tombstone led to a small corridor leading to a room with a glass wall overseeing the heart shaped moon. There, Saix stood watching. “ This is problematic.” He said as the group approached him. “ If Kingdom Hearts were to fall, we would lose the chance to exist truly and completely.”

“ Saix. Give it up.” Sora told him.

“ I’m afraid I cannot oblige that request.” He turned around. He summoned a large axe like weapon from out of thin air. “ While Axel forgot it, we made a promise. To save that person, I require more power. And fr that, I require a heart.”

“ Save someone?” Kairi asked. 

“ It doesn’t matter. All that matters is that you perish here.” Saix swung his claymore. A gust of wind blew forwards. Aura shot a barrier arrow at Sora, catching Riku and Kairi in the midst of it, before being blown out of the room alongside Mickey, Donald and Goofy. A force field blocked them from rejoining the fight. She dropped the barrier. “ No miscalculations this time.” Behind them, two Berserker nobodies appeared.

“ Everyone, eyes up. Sora. Riku. Kairi. Good luck with yours.” Aura yelled.

“ Don’t lose, Sis.” Sora yelled back. Both sides went to work. Mickey and Goofy ran forwards, tackling the Berserkers at the front line. Behind them, Donald began casting magic and Aura began firing arrows to piece their thick hides. Every now and again, she’d glance back to see how her brother and his friends were doing against the Luna Diviner. The trio were putting up a valiant effort. The usually calm and composed Saix was tearing up the room, slamming his claymore into the ground over and over again, cracking the ground with every swing, as he tore towards Sora and his friends. The three were often caught hard by Saix’s blows but, between Sora’s Curaga spell and acrobatic movements, Riku’s dark infused magic and Kairi, though untrained, was still managing to put up a good fight, even managing to pull out some Aero spells to send wave of razor sharp wind Saix’s way. However, Aura looked over after she heard a crack and Riku grunt in pain. She watched as Saix knocked Sora and Kairi across the room with a heavy swing before stomping on Riku’s chest, trapping him. Aura turned, summoned an arrow and aimed high. As Saix raised his claymore, about to bring it down on Riku’s chest, Aura fired. Her arrow sailed over the barrier wall and collided with the head of Saix’s weapon, knocking it from his hand, causing it to fly and crash into the far wall. In his confusion and shock, the pressure Saix was using to pin Riku with his foot lessened. Using this opportunity, Riku knocked him skyward with an upwards swing. Sora pulled Saix’s claymore free, spun with it in a circle and launched it. The claymore connected with Saix, smashing him into the ceiling. The weapon faded, causing the Berserker to fall hard to the ground. The forcefield fell as Mickey, Donald and Goofy finished off the last Berserker nobody.

“ W-Why?” Saix groaned, pained he looked up at Aura. “ You… again.”

“ As I said before, scarface. I’m happy to be your miscalculation.”

“ So it would seem.” Saix rolled over onto his back. “ I was a fool… Axel.” 

“ Saix…” Sora said sadly. “ Why did you do all of this?”

“ There was a girl… I met when I was human. In order to save her… I thought… I needed more strength. But, I lost myself… in that pursuit. I lost… my friend… to Roxas.”

“ Saix, who is Roxas?”

“ Roxas is... was one of our… members. Made of… your nobody. We used him… to collect the hearts we needed… for Kingdom Hearts.” He explained. He reached out for the moon. “Ah. Kingdom Hearts. Where… is my… heart?” Saix’s arm dropped. Soon after, his form vanished. Sora looked on in confusion.

“ My nobody? But I’ve never been a…” He looked over at Kairi, his eyes widening in realisation. “ Oh. I guess I did for a short time, didn’t I? Forgot about that.”

“ When a person with a strong will becomes a Heartless, a Nobody is formed.” Riku explained. “ When you released your heart to save Kairi, Roxas was formed. In order to wake you up, I had to defeat him. We- Diz and I- trapped him in the virtual Twilight Town. However, he returned to you on his own volition when the time was right.”

“ Roxas…” Sora looked down sadly. “ I wish… I could have met him.”

“ That name. Roxas. Just like from the memories X shared with me.” Aura mused.

“ What was that?”

“ Nothing. Don’t worry about it.” Aura put her bow away and folded her arms. “ Either way, if what the card shark you defeated was right, beating Saix should have shut the barrier in the graveyard down.”

“ Right.” Sora nodded. “ So we should be able to proceed now.”

“ Let’s go.” Mickey told the others. “ Ansem the Wise could be in trouble.”

****************

Leaving the graveyard passed the barrier, the group quickly ran into Ansem the Wise. The man was struggling with a strange machine Aura had never seen before. Riku and Mickey ran to his side. “ Diz”

“ Ansem.” The old man looked over at them with a glance.

“ Riku. Mickey, my old friend. I had hoped this would be dealt with by know. But it seems I made a foolish mistake.”

“ You believed you could measure the data of the heart of the world.” From further up the castle, Xemnas slowly walked. It was the first time Aura had seem him. The atmosphere seemed to drop the second he made himself known. Ansem didn’t even bother looking at him.

“ Xehanort. My foolish apprentice.” Ansem sounded sombre. “ To think my mistakes would drive this low.”

“ Who is the true fool here, Ansem?” Xemnas asked.

“ Ha. I suppose you may be correct in that accusation. Even after all this time, after you banished me from this realm and into the darkness, I am the same foolish old man that took you in that day 9 years ago only to push you into experiments I shouldn’t have even begun. Even now, I believed I could control the hearts. Use the data from my Twilight Town on something as real as your Kingdom Hearts. I knew this never would have worked deep down, but I was too stubborn. My mind was only on revenge.” As he talked, Ansem’s machine started sparking.

“ Ansem!” Mickey cried out. “ Your machine… It’s-”

“ I know, old friend. It’s going to self destruct. Anything could happen now. Run old friend. Take your friends below.” He looked over at Sora. “ Sora. I leave the rest to you. And Roxas… not that you can hear me now, but I apologise for all I did to you.”

“ Ansem…” Sora muttered.

“ Ha. So this is the end of the great Ansem the Wise?” Xemnas asked, his voice emotionless but still somehow obviously in it’s mocking. “ You truly are a pathetic old fool.”

“ Have your laugh, Xehanort.” Ansem spat back. “ I may be the source of all the turmoil that befell the worlds in recent years, but what of you? Is this the answer to your research? A manufactured heart feigning to be the Kingdom Hearts? All of your… of OUR sacrifices?”

“ I do not expect you to understand.” Xemans shook his head. “ All you ever did was hold me back in life. Why should now be any different? All you are is a heart corroded by jealousy for the students who surpassed you.”

“ Perhaps I do not.” Ansem laughed. “ But know this. You surpassed nothing. All you did was prove how little about the heart we know. Both you and I, Xehanort, are oblivious to the heart as when we first began our research. If you truly believe that this-” Ansem gestured at the heart shaped moon. “-Is a true creation, one that allows you to create anything you wish, then you’ll find that anything you create in this empire of ignorance is doomed to crumble and fall.” Xemnas growled at his former master before disappearing in a void of darkness. “ But I’ve talked enough. Riku, I trust you to know what to do next. My friend, Mickey. Please find it your heart to forgive me. And everyone else, Sora and all the rest of you. Farewell. I wish you luck.” The device glowed. Sora and Mickey tried to run forwards but were stopped by Kairi and Riku. Aura shot an arrow at the ground, erecting a barrier around them. It began cracking as light surrounded them before shattering completely from the force of the explosion.

“ Is everyone alright?” Aura asked, pushing herself off the ground. She looked around as everyone else slowly recovered.

“ I’m fine.” Sora said, sound winded. He looked over at Riku, who remained unmoving. “ Riku?” Sora ran over to his side. “ Riku? Are you-” A groan from Riku told him he was alright. Aura looked over to him. The dark skinned man who she was told was Riku was gone. In his place was something Aura expected from a year older Riku. Slowly, he pushed himself up, revealing that he was wearing a blindfold.

“ Riku!” Kairi gasped in surprise.

“ Hey. What’s with the blindfold?” Aura asked. Riku brought a hand to his face, feeling the cloth around his eyes.

“ This is…” Riku muttered in shock

“ Ansem did say anything could happen.” Mickey mused. The group looked over to where Ansem had been standing. However, no sign was left that he had ever been there except a rain of falling hearts and a black hole scarring the moon in the sky. “ Ansem… Old friend…” Mickey sighed, disheartened. Meanwhile, Sora looked back over to Riku.

“ Hey Riku. Are you gonna… take that off? Not to get on you about bad fashion or anything, but it does look a bit... strange.”

“ It does look a bit silly.” Kairi agreed.

“ Oh. Right.” Riku hesitated for a few seconds before reaching up and taking off the blindfold. He kept his eyes closed for a few seconds before slowly opening them.

“ So… what was that thing anyway?”

“ I’ve been fighting the darkness for a long time now.” Riku said, looking up at the moon. “ I wore that to try and fool myself. That I was seeped in darkness so I could fight as myself and not as Ansem. But it seems like now, thanks to Ansem the Wise, I no longer need it. Or perhaps, I haven’t needed it for a long time and only now can I see that.”

“ Ansem? Wait, wasn’t that Ansem?” Aura asked confused.

“ He’s referring to the other Ansem. Ansem, Seeker of Darkness. Or, I guess it would be Xehanort’s Heartless who took the name Ansem.” Sora scratched his head. “ I guess it is a bit confusing now that I put it that way.”

“ Say, Riku?” Kairi asked. “ Why did you go off on your own before anyway?”

“ Yeah. You’ve been trying to do so much on your own. You could have just asked for help. We’re all right here, after all. Whenever you need us.” Sora smirked. Riku looked at everyone.

“ Well, I suppose that’s because…” Riku looked like he was about to say something serious. Then he smirked. “ I’m not a total sap like you, Sora.”

“ Wha-” The group was distracted by the moon flashing.

“ Look!” Aura gasped. The moon looked like it was starting to fall apart, collapsing in on itself like a collapsing star. In the distance, buildings crumbled and a wave of darkness began setting in. “ It’s like this world is falling apart.

“ The Heartless are coming to collect the hearts Xemnas took for his Kingdom Hearts.” Riku explained. “ This world is like the nobodies. It shouldn’t truly exist. Without Kingdom Hearts to maintain it, it’s starting to fall into the Realm of Darkness.”

“ If we defeat Xemnas, we should be able to put an end to all of this.” Mickey told the others. “ We need to go now.”

“ Right.” The others said before moving quickly forwards. Riku stopped before heading back inside the castle, looking up at the crumbling moon.

“ I won’t been needing this anymore…” He muttered before throwing off his black coat, heading after his friends

****************

It was a short fight to the top of the castle. The seven arrived, climbing the outer stairs, to find Xemnas, back to them, staring at the crumbling Kingdom Hearts. “ Warriors of the keyblade.” He spoke as they approached him. “ Go forth. Slay more heartless. Claim more hearts to repair my shattered Kingdom Hearts.”

“ NO!” Sora, Riku and Mickey shouted, pointing their keyblades at Xemnas. With a deep sigh, the man turned around.

“ Denizens of Light. Answer me this. Why do you fear the darkness?”

“ Ha.” Mickey sighed. “ It’s only natural for the light to fear the darkness. Same way I think the darkness also fears the light. Both try to fight to defeat the other, but they’re two sides of the same coin. Ya can’t have one without the other. At least, that’s what I think.”

“ You can’t have light without darkness.” Riku stated. “ Light and dark are half of everything. And the reason each is scared of the other is because of who lurks inside them, planning on destroying the other. Like you, Xemnas.”

“ And yet you loathe us nothings who find ourselves stuck in between. Why is that?”

“ Simple. Because you mess up our worlds. Like Zexion and your ilk in Castle Oblivion, you hurt the people we care about. That’s why we’ll stop you.”

“ That may be. But what choice would we have had, rejected by both light and darkness? Why, the situation is almost enough to make me-”

“ Sad?” Sora let out a dry laugh. “ You don’t exist. You lack hearts and thus you lack emotions. You can’t BE sad.” Xemnas laughed slowly.

“ Indeed. You are correct. I cannot feel sadness. Nor can I feel joy. Or anger. Nor can I hate you, who slew my comrades in the organisation of mine. Or be sorrowful that it is just me left, alone in the in between.”

“ That’s sad.” Aura told him, looking down at her feet.

“ You pity me?”

“ I do. I’m human. I can feel pity. Unlike you, it seems. I can also feel anger and annoyance.” Aura looked up. “ Annoyance that just because you can’t feel, you decided, instead of trying to make peace and maybe getting what you want through fair play, throw a hissy fit cause someone has the toy you want and you can’t play with it so you decide to ruin life for everyone like a crying child.”

“ Oh?”

“ We come from a set of Islands. There are Seven of them, including the Vacant Island. They are wide spread and each island is drastically different from the other. Once in our history, the islands fought. But we came together as one. Opened trade talks. Peace treaties. We live as one world now. If King Mickey wanted a trade agreement with his world and our own, we’d consider it and possibly make an ally. Same with Twilight Town or any other world out there. But you? You, apprentice of a so called wise man? You attack, you destroy and you take like a common pirate thug. Is rationality an emotion or did you lose your head alongside your heart, Xemnas?” Aura snarled at the nobody. The man laughed.

“ Is that what you believe, girl? This is emotion. You lack the power to challenge us. You can’t use a keyblade. Yet here you stand with the other warriors. Same with the King’s lackeys. Is this what you call… trust?” Xemnas smirked slightly. “ Now that I look at you, you do seem-”

“ Don’t. Even. Say it.”

“ You’re fights with us, Xemnas.” Sora yelled.

“ Indeed it is. Warriors of the Keyblade. If you will not fight for me…” Xemnas flickered from existence. He reappeared, floating in front of Kingdom Hearts. “ Then I shall crush you and use the next who appear to do my bidding for me.” He turned to the broken moon. “ Heed me Kingdom Hearts. Lend me your power so that way me be complete. The power to erase all who hinder our goals.”

“ Xemnas! Stop!” Mickey cried out

“ Hearts filled with anger! Hearts scarred by Envy! Hearts quivering in anguish!”

“ You don’t know what you’re doing!” The King yelled again. “ Ansem told you. You can’t control hearts.”

“ That fool Ansem believed that the impossible was forever out of his reach even when it was right in front of him.” Xemnas bellowed. “ The nature of the heart may have been beyond him. But it is not beyond me. Come. And I shall show you.” Xemnas began to glow. In a flash of light, he was gone. In his place was a large, silver door.

“ That door!” Sora looked on in shock. “ Isn’t that…”

“ Ansem’s Kingdom Hearts.” Riku confirmed.

“ So, the last black coat is running away from us?” Aura sighed. “ Man, why doesn’t he just stand and fight?”

“ Gwarsh. They never do like doing this the easy way.” Goofy lamented.

“ Then we just gotta go in there and drag him in front of us.” Donald cried.

“ I don’t think it’ll be that easy somehow.” Kairi told the duck. “ But I’m ready to fight.”

“ We only get one shot of this.” Mickey told the others. “ Donald. Goofy. Aura. Kairi. Sora, Riku and I can handle this. You don’t have to put yourselves in any more danger.”

“ Wack!” Donald cried out. “ No way. We’re going too. RIght Goofy?”

“ Yes. Your majesty, with all due respect, I’m your royal guard and Donald is your court wizard. We promised Queen Minnie we’d bring ya back safely.”

“ I’m not leaving Sora.” Kairi told him. “ Besides, I have a keyblade too. I can fight.”

“ I may not be a keyblade wielder or a heartless slaying veteran, but I’m not backing down from this either.” Aura said. “ I’ll help to the bitter end if I must. But I’m bring that dolt home.” Aura rested her bow on her shoulder.

“ Are you guys sure?” Sora asked. “ Who knows what’s behind that door.”

“ Then let’s go find out.” Aura said confidently.

“ Sora. Riku. Let’s do this together. No running off without me this time.” Kairi told her two childhood friends.

“ Well Sora.” Riku put a hand on Sora’s shoulder. “ There’s no stopping Kairi when she’s like this. And your sis always did share that stubborn streak of yours.”

“ Ha. I guess.” Sora beamed. “ Well then. Guess we have to choice to accept their help. No time to argue after all. Come one.” Sora started walking for the door. Smirking, Riku followed suit, quickly followed by Kairi and then Aura. Mickey shook his head before following on, Donald and Goofy behind them. Sora pointed his keyblade at the door. A beam of light fired at it. The door creaked open, opening the way to the final battle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kairi and Mickey really deserved more screen time in Kingdom Hearts 2, don't you think?


	6. Union

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final fight against Xemnas begins

The first thing that greeted the group when they passed through the door was a skyscraper hurtling at them through sky. “ Scatter!” Mickey yelled. The group dived in different directions as the skyscraper smashed into the ground. There was a sudden yell. Mickey looked over to see the door swinging shut. In their efforts to dodge, Donald and Goofy ended back on the other side, locking them out of the battle. 

“ Why!” Aura stamped her foot in annoyance. “ I mean a building? Talk about overkill.”

“ Don’t worry. I’ll deal with the next one.”

“ Uh. Sora. It’s a building. I doubt your door key will deal with that.”

“ Ah. So you came. Warriors of the Keyblade… and Saix’s miscalculation. You truly are become a bother.” Xemnas’ voice boomed across the area. A rumbling threatened to knock everyone off their feet. The walls began moving. The group sprinted through the corridor of buildings, ending up at the edge of a cliff. As they looked for where to go next, a dragon flew up from off the cliff edge.

“ Xemnas!” Sora yelled.

“ So. You wish to prove me wrong? Then come for me. I shall be waiting.” Sora looked back at the group.

“ What now?” Kairi asked.

“ Sora and I will head up there by foot. Mickey, I’ll trust you to get the others up.”

“ Alright.” The King nodded.

“ By foot?” Aura asked, surprised. Suddenly, another set of building flew from the abyss, took aim and launched at the group. Sora and Riku nodded at each other and leapt. Aura watched, her face a look of disbelief, as Sora and Riku began running along the sides of the buildings before cutting them in two, jumping over to the next and the next before finally leaping on to the fort surrounding the distant dragon. Aura’s mouth hung open. “ Does… Does owning a keyblade allow you to do that? Cause I know I can’t do that.”

“ Hey. I have a keyblade and I know I can’t do that.” Kairi told Aura.

“ Worry not. That’s why I’m here. Hold on to everything important. This may be a wild ride.” Mickey focused a spell into his Keyblade.

“ What do you mean by tha-”

“ AEROZA!” Mickey yelled, cutting her off. A gale of wind appeared below the group. Suddenly, Aura felt herself launched high into the air. She began to scream, crying out loudly as she hurtled towards the dragon. She noticed Sora and Riku fighting a number of nobodies outside what seemed to be giant laser cannons or reactors. Aura tried to aim as best she could before firing two arrows. They spun through the air, spiraling around each other, before splitting up. One arrow went into each reactor and exploded. The explosion only seemed to increase the altitude in which Aura was flying however as she rocketed ever higher, soon ending up high, on the roof of the structure the dragon was holding.

Aura landed with a loud thud on her back. She got to her feet slowly before staggering to the edge and throwing up the ice cream Pence had bought her, Hayner and Olette for lunch over the side and into the void. Kairi and Mickey soon landed next her, Kairi having a similar reaction but she was able to at least hold her guts in. “ Gosh. Are you two OK?” Mickey asked, his face concerned.

“ I’ve… been better.” Aura admitted, wiping her mouth.

“ Sorry, I probably should have given you a better warning.”

“ It’s fine.” Aura cough, spitting off the edge. “ I’ll walk it off. Ugh.” Aura was interrupted by a loud roar. The trio present on top top of the tower looked up. The dragon’s large head loomed above them, casting a shadow on all below. “ Oh come on. Who let this guy have dragon? That’s just unfair.”

“ We have deal with it or we won’t be able to make it to Xemnas.” Kairi stated.

“ Yeah. I got it.” Aura pulled back on her bow strings, summoning another light arrow.

“ Look out!” Mickey yelled. The dragon reared back it’s head before breathing a stream of colourless flames straight down at the trio. Aura fired a barrier arrow at the ground, stopping the attack in its tracks. The moment of respite was brief however as the attack cracked the barrier. Mickey jumped into the air as it shattered. “ Refelectga.” Mickey greated a shield of light, which protected them barely long enough for the attack to stop.

“ That was some serious fire power.” Aura grumbled. “ We have to strike at once. Daze it. Bring it down.”

“ Daze?” Kairi asked. Aura nodded.

“ Maybe it’s my archer’s eyesight focusing in on things, but I calmed down enough to help Sora mid flight. At that time, I noticed something. This dragon is holding the fortress up. If we kill it…”

“ It’ll vanish. We’ll drop!” Kairi realised. Aura nodded again.

“ Yeah. Exactly. If we daze it, we’ll still fall but not immediately. Even better, we may be able to push it into the ground. That’ll remove the threat and we can fight Xemnas at our leisure.”

“ Strike it hard and fast.” Mickey nodded. “ That may work. But we need to be relentless or it’ll take us all out with that breath.”

“ Have you heard of the triple wave strategy? I don’t know what it’s called in other worlds.”

“ Triple wave?”

“ Yeah. Captain Jecht loves swinging in head first in battles, but he have more tactful commanders. We have three groups. Captain Jecht’s battalion is mine. We deal with purely ground combat. Anti-naval warfare is Captain Ashe’s role. Not many know, but she has Balthier on her pay role. Finally, theres Captain Gladiolus, who looks like a brute but is actually-.”

“ Is now really the time to explain all of that?” Kairi asked.

“ Oh. Right. Sorry.” Aura scratched the back of her head nervously. The dragon took a swing with its claw but Mickey deflected it with his keyblade. “ As I was saying, the triple wave strategy is one of Ignis’ favourites. He works part time in Gladiolus’ section of the militia and part time as a cafe owner. Anyway, It involves a strike force of three lines of ranged fighters. One line fires then the next fires, giving the first time to reload. Then the third goes as the second reloads. Then the first goes while the third reloads. The line behind the line firing prepares. It creates a relentless attack designed to exhaust enemies on the offensive.” Aura Drew her bow back, aiming at the Dragon’s head. “ I’ll fire first. Then Mickey, you can go. Finally, you Kairi. If we use magic, we can recreate the triple wave formation.”

“ And if we run out of energy?” Mickey asked.

“ You have a blade.” Aura looked over at him. “ Ready?” Mickey nodded. 

“ Ready.” Kairi held her blade in a defensive manner. Aura let her arrow loose.

“ Pulsar Arrow: Scattershot.” The arrow split into a number of smaller arrows as the mimic of Xigbar’s gunshot flew at the dragon. It recoiled as it struck the side of it’s head. Mickey moved in, leaping in the air.

“ Firaga!” He shouted, launching an orb of fire at the Dragon. As it collided and Mickey’s feet hit the ground, Kairi stepped up.

“ Aero!” Kairi swung her keyblade, sending waves of razor sharp wind. Aura fired another scatter shot. Mickey launched an orb of holy magic. Kairi send more waves of Aero. The dragon flinched as it was assaulted over and over again. The air shifted as it moved backwards from the blows.

“ Together!” Mickey shouted. Aura and Kairi nodded. “ Pearl!”

“ Aerora!”

“ Ragnarok!” The two holy attacks were pushed together and onwards by the razor wind, blasting into the dragon as a single attack, glowing brightly before exploding. The dragon roared weakly. Before beginning to fall. The trio got lifted into the air. Mickey stabbed his keyblade into the fortress. Aura grabbed onto the edge. Kairi fell past her until Aura thrust her bow out, giving the novice keyblade wielder something to hold onto for dear life. Suddenly, from below, explosions echoed out, fire bursting from the side of the castle. The dragon fell towards the city, the explosions shaking off Mickey and Aura and sending them into the air. From the side of the castle, two other familiar figures leapt out to escape. The dragon twisted and spun before landing with a terrible crash into the city below, landing chest first and crushing the remains of the fort it had been carrying. All five of the ones who entered Xemnas’ realm landed on it’s back.

“ So. I take it you guys were busy too.” Riku snarked.

“ Just a dragon. No big.” Aura chuckled. “ You?”

“ Some kind of mainframe. Judging by how it exploded after we took it down, it may have been some kind of central core.” Sora told them.

“ Always have to be dramatic, huh Sora?” Kairi joked.

“ Hey. Speak for yourself. You crashed the thing.”

“ Guys.” Mickey pointed up the back. The Dragon’s spines parted, revealing a path towards where it’s head had been. On the skull of the dragon, sitting on a large thrown, was Xemnas, clad in bright grey and silver armour, beckoning them to step closer. “ It’s time we finish this.”

“ Yeah.” Sora said. “ Let’s go.” The group walked forwards, approaching the throne.

“ Warriors of the Keyblade. Have you come to kneel before me?” Xemnas mocked as they approached. “ Or do you wish to depose me? The king of nothingness.” He shook his head. “ No. I will not allow it. And neither will they.” As they pondered what they meant, stepping into the large area that held Xemnas’ throne on the back of the dragon’s head, something flew out of the back of his throne.

“ Keyblades?” Sora said, surprised. Three keyblades soared through the sky. One a mirror of Sora’s, one white and blue, star shaped at the tip, and the other dark and menacing. Mickey jumped in between them and the group. 

“ Reflectga.” The keyblades bounced off. Then they stopped in midair and spun back in. Aura shot and arrow down, creating her barrier. They keyblades rebounded. However, more weapons shot from the throne. A large axe like sword and Saix’s Claymore hit opposite sides of the barrier, shattering it immediately. The keyblades charged again. The group dodged, separating themselves. As the keyblades swung at Aura, she shot three arrows at them, one exploding, knocking the Kingdom Key into the ground. 

“ Eyes up.” She yelled. “ We have to stop Xemnas.”

“ Attack from all angles.” Riku called before rushing in. A ring of cards surrounded him, stopping his advance. Kairi ran over next, swinging in from the right. A guitar sounded. Suddenly, a number of watery figures appeared, attacking Kairi and forcing her into a defensive position. Sora swung in from the left. As he did however, A scythe, spinning like a saw blade shot out at him, spinning along the ground, homing in wherever Sora tried to dodge. Finally, Mickey hoped into the air only to be brought down by a number of lances blasting out of the sky with a blast of wind. Aura watched this from behind but had barely a chance to react. The light and dark keyblades spun through the air, slashing wildly and in sync, as if they were in the hands of an invisible master swordsman. Slowly, Aura found herself pushed back, blocking the keyblades with the edges of her bow. Then, her back met something. She glanced back. The Kingdom Key she had blown out of the sky lay there, stuck. A warmth filled her heart. Aura grabbed the key and swung up. The attacking keyblades were knocked away before fading into nothingness. Aura looked in surprise, first at the key and then back to where the attacking weapons had been.

“ They break?” Aura didn’t have time to relax. Saix’s Claymore came crashing down from above.

“ Dark Firaga!” Riku called, burning the cards to cinders. “ It must be because Xemnas lacks trust. Loyalty. Connections to his fellow organization members. He can control the weapons but they’re fragile. Like his bonds to his comrades.” Riku dodged forwards as a floating book started pelting him with a barrage of spells. The axe blade swung in from below at the same time, catching Riku between the two. Off to the side, Sora blocked the Scythe.

“ Blizzaga!” Sora fired a crystal of ice, freezing the Scythe solid, causing it to drop to the ground and shatter. “ That’s just sad. Reflect.” Sora created a shield as a number of knives, imbued with lightning, launched at him.

“ Aerora!” A vortex of razor winds surrounded Kairi, shooting out and cutting the guitar’s strings. “ That should mean he’ll run out of these eventually, right?” She yelled over, guarding as Axel’s Chakrams spun at her.

“ Right. If we take out the weapons, Xemnas will be left defenceless. Pearl!” Mickey launched an orb of light, taking down the spears. “ At least that’s the theory.” He leapt up deflecting arrowgun shots with his keyblade.

“ I’ll go for Xemnas. You guys keep the weapons distracted.” Sora cut the knives down in one swing before leaping at Xemnas. A blue shield blocked his path, deflecting his swing. He tried breaking it, but found it hard, his attacks bouncing off it’s surface. Aura blocked the Claymore with her stolen Keyblade, pushing it off her before looking over at Sora. She looked down at the Keyblade in her hand and her bow. She dropped to one knee and took aim.

“ Sora. Move.” Aura loaded her bow, pulling back with all her strength

“ Huh? Woah!” Aura fired, launching the keyblade at the shield, charged with light energy. It launched forwards like a shooting star, connecting with the shield and exploding into an array of light. The shield vanished in an instant. “ Woah. Thanks Sis.” Aora smiled before charging at Xemnas. “ Xemnas! You’re through!” 

“ Is that so?” Xemnas laughed. He put up a large, square shield. Sora slashed into it, pushing hard in an attempt to cut through. Riku was able to dodge around the book and cut it down before blasting the axe blade down with a dark fire blast. He looked over at Sora and ran over, leapt and pushed his Keyblade down, slashing into the shield himself. Kairi cut the Chakrams down with another dualcast of Aero before running over to help her friends, swinging in from below. As the sparks from the keyblades flew off, making a small glow as the trio struggled against Xemnas shield, Aura and Mickey looked over, blocked by the final weapons, Saix Claymore for Aura and Xibar’s arrowguns for Mickey, to effectively help. “ Keyblade wielders. Can you not see this is pointless? Surrender. I shall let you work for me.”

“ Never!” Kairi cried out.

“ We’ll never give in to you!” RIku yelled.

“ We’ll defeat you!” Sora shouted. Light emanated from their keyblades. Xemnas gasped as his shield cracked.

“ TRINITY!” All three shouted at the same time. Power filled them. Their keyblades glowed. A triangle of light seemed to connect them. Xemnas barrier shattered.

“ How… is this possibly?” Xemnas muttered in surprise before three keyblades pierced his armour. The Claymore and the Arrowguns faded away. Soon the thrones room started to fade. Then the world went with it.

****************

They found themselves back where they started on top of the Castle that Never Was. Donald and Goofy immediately met them, asking if they were OK. What had happened. Apologising for messing up. However, they didn’t return alone. Xemnas collapsed to one knee. “ How…” He asked, surprise in his monotone voice. “ How did you defeat me? Is it that I need more hearts? Hearts fuelled by anger? More Power?”

“ Xemnas.” Sora sighed. “ There’s more to a heart than just anger. It’s filled with far more emotions. More powerful emotions. Like joy, happiness and feelings of comradely and trust for your companions. You failed because you didn’t have any bonds. They were weak like those fake weapons. But, once in the past, you must have had bonds like ours. Like with Ansem the Wise. Don’t you remember?”

“ Ha. Unfortunately, I don’t.” Xemnas smiled sadly before fading into nothingness. Everyone remained apprehensive, watching as his faded from existence, darkness flowing into the sky. Then, everyone collectively let out a sigh of relief.

“ We did it!” Sora punched his fist into the air, letting out a victory cry. Everyone else, smiled happily, celebrating in their own ways. Aura looked up at the starless sky and let out a long sigh. 

“ It’s over.” She said. She glanced over. Sora and Riku had started having a conversation, Riku looking sad. She leaned in.

“ How can I go home? I destroyed it. I gave into darkness. How can I-” Aura brought her bow down on the boys head. “ Ow!” He and Sora looked over at Aura, sighing and putting her bow back into her quiver, folding her arms and shaking her head disapprovingly.

“ Oh man. Don’t be stupid. It doesn’t matter what you did. Everyone misses you. Even after we all forgot Sora, it was still ‘ Where’s Riku?’ ‘ Is Riku ever coming home?’ ‘ Is Kairi still waiting for that boy?’ Etcetera etcetera.”

“ They missed me?”

“ Of course, you idiot. They missed you both.” Aura rolled her shoulder. “ Which is why I’m going to drag you both back. Sora was the one I promised to return, but you’ll be my bonus good deed for today.”

“ What are you guys talking about over here?” Kairi leaned her head passed Sora, making her presence known.

“ Riku’s moping.” Sora told her.

“ I’m not moping.”

“ He’s blaming himself for what happened to the islands. Wondering if he should go back.” Aura shrugged. “ Basically moping.”

“ It’s NOT moping.”

“ It does sound like moping.” Kairi laughed teasingly 

“ You too, Kairi?” The four laughed

“ Well, if you’re so conflicted. I guess the only thing to do is go home and apologize.” Kairi suggested with a smile.

“ Ha. I suppose your right.” Riku smiled. Their happy moment was interrupted by a sudden shaking. The castle was beginning to collapse like the city had.

“ We need to get out of here.” Sora cried.

“ I’ll open us a path.” Riku motioned with his arm. However, nothing happened. He looked at his hand in surprise. 

“ You won’t be able to use that anymore. You don’t belong in the darkness anymore.” Mickey told him.

“ Well, that’s great and all, but how do we get out of here then?” Aura asked.

“ What do we do, you’re majesty?” Donald asked Mickey. Mickey hummed in thought. Aura sighed, rapidly tapping her finger against her arm.

“ What about those coats? If we go back down the castle and get some, maybe we can force a portal open.”

“ It doesn’t work like that Aura. It’s the affinity to darkness that opens the Dark Voids, not the coat.”

“ Ugh. Then… no, the portal to Twilight Town will be long gone by now. What to do, what to do, what to do?” She growled. “ I got nothing.”

“ Me either.” Mickey admitted.

“ There has to be something we can do!” Riku said, desperately. “ Sora. What do you think?” He looked over at his shoulder. “ Sora?”

“ Gwarsh. Look.” The group looked over, Sora and Kairi already looking at something in that direction. Aura felt a slight pain in her heart. A dark void had opened. Mickey and Donald ran over to inspect it. Suddenly, a loud series of barks was heard. Pluto sprinted up the castle steps and ran around Mickey, happily, before sprinting through the portal. “ Wait for me, Pluto!” Goofy yelled before running through. Donald was next. Mickey looked back.

“ C’mon guys. Hurry.” He said before following his loyal comrades through. Sora and Kairi stopped in front of the dark void. Sora looked surprised, stepping backwards and went silent, listening. They started talking as if they were having a conversation to thin air Aura and Riku looked at the two in confusion. Aura couldn’t understand it but she felt her heart burn in sadness. Like it was crying. Aura walked over to the two and cleared her throat.

“ Am I interrupting your talk with… that castle battlements?”

“ Oh. I guess you cant see them. Sorry sis.” Sora looked embarrassed. Aura looked over, her eyes locking to a place of thin air like the others. Somehow though she felt a presence there.

“ Hey. Is Roxas there?” She asked.

“ Huh? Yeah, but how do you-”

“ Roxas. I don’t know you. But I know one of your friends. Name begins with an X. She misses you but she’s doing well.” Aura closed her eyes. “ That’s all I’ve got to say.” She turned her back.

“ X? Wait, Sis? Huh? Roxas? Are you… crying?” Aura heard Sora say. “ You don’t know why? Strange…” Aura walked back to Riku.

“ So, should we drag the crazies back?” He asked.

“ We have a few minutes. Let them talk.” They watched from beside the Dark Void as the two finished up their conversation joined them.

“ Sorry. Just finishing something off.” Sora told them

“ We’re done now. Everything is settled.” Kairi nodded. “ Namine says hello by the way Riku.”

“ Namine.” Riku nodded. “ I see. So that’s how it is.”

“ Explain it to me simply when we get back. C’mon. Dolts first.” Aura offered the portal to Sora with a servant like bow.

“ Oh, har de har.” Sora deadpanned. Before anyone could move however, the ground shook. Aura staggered back into the portal as it started to close. 

“ What?” Time seemed to slow as she watched the portal shrink. She saw the shocked faces on Sora, Riku and Kairi’s faces. She reached a hand out towards them. Then the portal snapped shut. She was left staring at a blank wooden wall in a familiar hut. She was back on the island. They were stuck behind. “ No…” Aura muttered. “ NOOOOOOO!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I could have added the last chapter to the end of this chapter since it's about half the length of a normal one bu having 7 chapters in a Kingdom Hearts fanfic is way too tempting to pass up.


	7. Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aura returns to the Islands

Aura lay on her back on the vacant island. When they had arrived, the sun was just rising. Now, the sky was turning orange as the sun was beginning to set. Aura hadn’t moved an inch all day, just staring blankly at the sky. Mickey sat beside her. Donald and Goofy sat with Pluto from afar. “ Aura.” Mickey started.

“ Don’t.” Aura stopped him, her voice hoarse from a day of crying, screaming and not drinking any water. “ Just don’t.”

“ It wasn’t your-”

“ I said. Don’t.” Aura said again, more commanding. The she sighed, the fire in her dying out again. She lifted her hand and slammed it into the beach, a cloud of sand puffing into the air. “ I had them. They were right there. RIGHT there in front of me. And now they’re all gone again. Not just Sora. Not just Riku either. Kairi’s missing now too. Lost to whatever hellscape they got locked in. Maybe dead. Gone forever.”

“ They’re together, Aura. They’ll be fine.” Mickey told her. “ Remember Aqua?” Aura nodded. “ She was locked in that place for eight years when I found here. Just before we found you. If they ended up in the Realm of Darkness, I know she’ll look out for them.”

“ And if they don’t end up there? If it’s somewhere else entirely?”

“ Then we at least know they’re together. They have each others backs. They’ll return.”

“ And if your wrong?”

“ Then I’ll go get them myself.” Aura looked at him before looking back up.

“ Don’t make promises you can’t keep, your majesty.” She said spitefully.

“ Aura…” Mickey sighed. “ I’m sorry. I’ll-”

“ Huh?” Aura narrowed her eyes, looking up. “ Shooting Stars.”

“ Shooting Stars?” Mickey looked up.

“ Three of them.” Aura kept watching. The three glimmers of light fell fast, plummeting straight down towards the islands. “ They’re going to crash into the ocean.”

“ Really?” Mickey looked up. Watching them, Goofy and Donald did the same. The three lights got larger and larger as they came closer and closer.

“ Am I… seeing things?” Aura asked. “ That looks like…” Aura’s eyes widened in shock. She kicked herself off the beach and ran over to the shore, watching as the stars crashed into the ocean.

“ What? What is it Aura? Aura?!” Mickey asked, running over to her. Aura smiled. 

“ You absolute mad people.” She muttered, not hearing Mickey. Mickey looked out to see. Emerging from the waves was three figures. Two boys and a girl. They began swimming to sure.

“ Heeeeeey!” Sora called. “ We’re baaaack!” Aura covered her eyes with her hand, slowly walking away from the shore, laughing to hide the sounds of her sobs of joy. She picked up her quiver and slung it over her shoulders. Mickey was the first to greet them. Aura watched as Donald and Goofy leapt to Sora, pushing him back into the sea. Riku reached the shore next, followed closely by Kairi. 

“ Ugh. I forgot how hard it was to swim in full clothes like this. And I’m drenched.” Kairi complained, wringing out her skirt.

“ Could be worse.” Riku said, stretching. “ Could be back on that other beach.”

“ Ugh. Too cold.”

“ Sora. Riku. Kairi.” Aura said, approaching them. The three looked up at her, smiling.

“ Hey Sis. Made it- Gah!” Aura hit all three over the head with her bow, her face angry.

“ WHAT WAS THAT STUNT YOU PULLED, HUH?!” Aura yelled.

“ Ow…” Kairi grabbed her head.

“ Hey. It wasn’t our fault, Aura.” Riku said, trying desperately to explain.

“ You made us worry. I couldn’t even go back home. Cause there’s no row boats.” Aura put her bow away. “ Grah!”

“ Sorry… sis.” Sora said awkwardly. Then Aura hugged him.

“ Stupid idiotic dolt. Don’t do that again.” She growled.

“ I promise Sis. I won’t.”

“ Good.” She whispered. She released Sora. “ Now then. What happened to you guys? You look like someone chucked all your clothes through a shredder." The trio looked at eachother, confused before realising their situation was as Aura had described. Their clothes were covered in holes and their skin in scratches. They laughed. “ What’s so funny?”

“ Nothing. Nothing.” Sora scratched the back of his neck. The three began to explain their long battle. Apparently, Xemnas wasn’t quite dead and gone. The three had been through a lot. A long and gruelling affair. But they stuck by each other and, in the end, overcame their adversary. Then they found themselves at a beach in the Realm of Darkness.

“ That sounds familiar.” Aura said, shaking her head. “ Must’ve been the same place I trained.”

“ Where you trained?” Riku asked.

“ I’ve explained it to the dolt. I’ll tell you later.”

“ Sounds like you need some water, Sis. Guess you’re not in the mood for…” Aura reached for her bow. Sora slowly stepped backwards.

“ That’s what I thought.”

“ Hey. You didn’t happen to see a woman with blue hair there, did you?” Mickey asked. The three shook their heads. “ I see. Alright. Just asking.”

“ Have a little faith, Mickey. Teacher is fine.”

“ I think I’m missing some pieces of the story here.” Kairi pointed out.

“ Ha. Aren’t we all.” The group was interrupted by the sound of a ships horn. They looked to see Balthier’s ship approaching them

“ Well now.” A voice yelled over. Balthier leant forward over the bow of the ship, a smirk plastered on his face. “ You people don’t do subtle returns, do you?”

“ Balthier!” Sora waved at him.

“ Been a while, huh? You grew up over your missing year it seems.” Balthier looked at the group. “ So. What’s with animal farm?”

“ It’s a… long story.” Aura said with a sigh. “ We’ll explain some other time. Right now, I am exhausted.”

“ Ha. You sound it. Fair enough, I suppose.” Balthier shrugged. “ I’ll have Fran drop the ladder. Perhaps we should leave some row boats over here for the next time you decide to drop out of the sky, hmm?” Balthier walked off chuckling to himself.

“ That Balthier hasn’t changed a bit, has he?” Riku said with a laugh.

“ Same old wannabee pirate.” Aura agreed. She looked over to Mickey. “ So. You guys got a way back?”

“ We’ll call Chip and Dale.” Goofy told her.

“ Yeah. Don’t worry about us.” Donald nodded. “ We’ll leave Sora to you from here.”

“ We’ll make sure to visit you guys again at some point.” Mickey nodded. “ But right now, I think it’s time I turn my attention to getting Aqua out of the Realm of Darkness.”

“ When teacher get’s out, you can both come by.” Aura said with a smile. Mickey smiled.

“ Of course. Riku, look after your self ya hear?”

“ Thanks for everything Mickey.”

“ Sora, you be good.” Donald told him.

“ Heh. Count on it.”

“ Come on guys. Balthier will leave without us.” Aura told them. She walked towards the ship, waving with the back of her hand to the others. The four climbed up to the ship and watched as Mickey, Donald and Goofy waved them off. As they arrived back on the main island, they saw the Gummy Ship take off in the distance. Fran told them that a lot of the village saw the stars fall into the sea and they decided to check if it was treasure but found them instead. A few people was waiting as they got off the ship. Vaan and Penelo were surprised to see them. Selphie was quick to rush Kairi with a hug. From the beach, Jecht and Claire approached to see what the commotion was about only to see the group. Jecht berated them for making everyone worry but welcomed them back. They saw Riku off first. He was hesitant to enter his home but the shouts of joy from his father when he got back made Kairi and Sora laugh. Kairi went off next, returning to the orphanage she had lived in ever since being dropped into the island from her original world. She mentioned plans of trying to find her own place, feeling that she’d grown more confidant to live on her own two feet. FInally, Sora and Aura found themselves in front of their own home. Sora shuffled, fidgeting nervously. “Well? Should we go in?”

“ I’m nervous. It’s been a year.”

“ Yeah. And Mom’s been worried sick. So has Dad, but he hides it better.” Aura smirked. “ Y’know, she told me to call you down to dinner that night.”

“ Heh. Really?”

“ Yeah. Forget what it was though. I never got to eat it either.” Aura walked towards the door. “ Well, I’m hungry. And thirsty. And tired. And I need a bath. You coming?” Sora laughed and nodded. Aura breathed before pushing the door open. “ Mom! I’m back!”

“ Oh my goodness. Aura! It’s been 5 days. Where have you...been…” Her mother trailed off as Aura stepped to the side, letting Sora in. Tears welled up in her eyes. Her dad looked over from his seat in surprise.

“ Hey Mom.” He said. “ So. What’s for dinner?” Their mother ran at him, crushing him in a hug, sobbing. Aura sat down next to her father, watching.

“ So. What happened to you?”

“ I hope you like long stories. Cause we have a very big one to share.”

****************

After getting his mother to release him and calm down, Sora took his seat and began explaining everything to his parents. Aura went to finish the dinner, letting her mother rest. The two listened intently. They got surprised when Sora summoned a giant key from nowhere and made it vanish just as fast. Aura laid out their dinner as the story continued. Sora told them everything, beginning to end. Of Ansem. Of Xemnas. Of Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy. Of Riku and Kairi and their roles in all of it. Of vast worlds. Deep jungles and Arabian night's. The world inside a whale and inside a book. Of becoming a lion, a merman and a monster. And his parents listened to it all without questioning. And when he was done, they remained silent. Their mother spoke first. “ Just. The next time you run off for a year, tell us before you go?” She said, a warm smile on her face. “ I’m not going to pretend I understand all these stories of darkness and light and keys, but it seems you did good for the world. Or worlds? I… still don’t know.” Shakily, she rose from her seat. “ I’m going to go rest now. I… think it’s needed. Just, don’t be gone when I wake up Sora? Please?”

“ I won’t, Mom. Promise.” 

“ Thank you.” Sora’s mother went up stairs, obviously shaken. Aura stood up as well. 

“ I’m still exhausted as well. It’s hard to stay awake.”

“ Good night, dear.” Her father told her. “ Thank you for bringing him back.”

“ Hey.” She said as she reached the stairs. I did promise.” She climbed up the stairs and returned to her room, collapsing to her bed. She groaned lightly, her mind flashing back to the final battle she had with everyone. She raised a hand up. “ Keyblade.” She murmured. Her heart felt warm. Light glowed in her hand. She looked at it in shock before quickly, lowering it again, the light fading. She growled in annoyance. “ No. I refuse.” Then she closed her eyes and slept. Her brother was safe. Right now, that’s all she needed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with that, the second story of this trilogy comes to an end. Well, a trilogy as I've planned it. Dunno. Might go a bit longer. I have a few bonus stuff I can do if I want to. Might even do a sequel. Who knows. But, if I do, It won't be immediate. I was able to upload both this story and the last one in one day because, genius that I am, I forgot to upload the first one like two weeks back when I finished it as originally planned.
> 
> I'm about halfway through the third story so I decided to upload the first two ahead of time. Cause... I dunno. Corona Virus is a thing and I'm bored. My plan is to have the third story wrap up all the foreshadowing and loose ends I've made over Shadow and Nothingness as well as give a proper ending that doesn't end on a cliffhanger for another 15 games like Nomura did. Maybe open ended so I can continue the series if I want too later but not a cliffhanger.
> 
> Either way, as I say, any sort of comments or feedback is appreciated. I'm pretty new to this whole "big ass series" thing after all.


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